


The Walls

by Gang_of_Shadow



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Regency, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Gothic, Gothic Romance, Porn With Plot, Romance, Sex, Slow Burn, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:34:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26608330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gang_of_Shadow/pseuds/Gang_of_Shadow
Summary: Victorian/Regency/Gothic AU: Byleth Eisner is hired to be the companion of a troubled young noble woman. Upon arriving at Garreg Mach Abbey she finds it a household full of tortured ghosts and dark secrets.Byleth must combat the shadows of her own past while wading through those cast by the Abbey and its inhabitants - both of which are threatening to drag her down into the dark._____Dimileth pairingFuture pairings planned for other charactersstarting this a bit early for spooks month. Might turn into a series if the brain worms don't take over.Will add tags as I go
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd & My Unit | Byleth, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/My Unit | Byleth, dimileth - Relationship
Comments: 28
Kudos: 103





	1. The Abbey

**Author's Note:**

> I love Victorian/Regency/Gothic romances and this idea suddenly jumped into my head so here it is. The universe is a bit of a mash up of all three so its not following any strict rules for any of them. 
> 
> I was going to save this for October, but it turns out I don't have the restraint. Might become a series if I can get my other ideas in order (they would all be short or one-offs).
> 
> Please enjoy and tell me what you think! :)

"I do hope you will be comfortable here, Miss Eisner. Some people have found the Abbey a little… Disorienting." The steward, Master Cichol, seemed a kind man, if a little reserved. He clearly held quite a great deal of stock in propriety, a trait she found common among those in service.

"I think I shall do just fine here, sir. I quite like these old places. They have a history - characters all their own. I find it comforting that places like this have weathered so much and yet still stand."

He looked surprised as he gazed sideways at her while they walked. "That is… Quite a unique view of Garreg Mach, I must say. But then I suppose I am more accustomed to the local view of the Abbey. You'll hear a plethora of ghost stories and Gothic tales in no time I'm sure." Byleth just smiled passively. She didn't want to say that this was part of the charm that she so enjoyed about places like this, for fear that it might offend him. "That being said it is an old, drafty, monster of an estate. Several rooms have been closed off and are unused as we no longer have the staff to maintain them. Voices tend to carry farther than you would expect. Staff have reported strange noises and so on. It's just a drafty, creaking old building. Its windy out here on the moors and the wind tends to blow right through buildings like this."

She wanted to inquire as to whether she would be permitted to explore the unused parts of the Abbey, but she held her tongue. She knew how old families like this could be, and there would be time enough to inquire once she'd settled in.

"I know this is not quite like your other placements…" He continued as he steered them from the entrance hall up to the second floor and along a stretch of dimly lit hallway. "As I've already suggested the family has had some… difficulties. I'm not sure how aware you are of the history of the Blaiddyd's."

"I am only familiar with what can be read in the papers."

"Lady Blaiddyd has not been well. The death of her husband, though it was a few years ago, has hit her hard. Then their son disappearing shortly there after. Lady Edelgard has not taken the deterioration of her mother well, and it seems to be affecting her own mental stability. We are quite isolated here at the Abbey but for the small town in the valley. We do not typically receive many guests or visitors, though now that Lady Blaiddyd's brother resides with us we do see more company than we have been accustomed to." The steward spoke of Lord Arundel with only a hint of disdain. But Byleth was accustomed to taking note of even the smallest hints and clues as to what someone's true intentions and feelings were. She had to if she was to remain effective in her role.

She had been a governess for a short time, a very short time. Though she had enjoyed teaching, it did eventually become rather dull. So she had decided to transition to the role of companion to the elderly or lonely. People who required some one to converse with, accompany them on their travels, or help maintain their households. In the end she'd done a great many things for a number of different people, though she was still quite young, merely six and twenty.

She had traveled to far off places such as Brigid and Almyra, she had helped restore the order of at least two great households, and attended an aging countess with no remaining family as she saw through her final years in peace, comfort and friendship. Byleth had never stayed in one place for very long. Only as long as she was needed. She preferred it that way. It kept her life interesting. The idea of becoming stagnant, still, terrified her more than almost anything.

It was true that this placement was unique compared to her previous positions. She had heard some of the rumours about the Blaiddyd family. The papers had not exactly been kind due to the mysterious nature of Lord Blaiddyd's death, and his son's subsequent and sudden disappearance. And even before that, Lady Blaiddyd's other children from her first marriage all disappearing or dying young had made her something of a pariah in "good" society. Though her position as a noble had so far ensured that she was not outright shunned. The steward had tried to spare those details from his brief history lesson, but it was common knowledge that, at the very least, a shadow hung over this family and had for some time.

"As we wrote in the advertisement, you will be companion to Lady Edelgard. She is close to you in age, but you may find her… distant, difficult to converse with. It was not always so. She used to be quite a bright girl, vivacious, but of late she has taken to much more erratic behavior. She will go for days without saying a word to anyone. Then she'll start to lash out, at her mother, her uncle, the servants - anyone who is unlucky enough to cross her path. She had a suitor for a time, and it seemed she was improving but Lord Arundel found some fault with him - I believe his family made their fortune in trade or something of the like. He stopped visiting, and eventually stopped corresponding all together…" Again, Master Cichol's voice held a hint of distaste when he mentioned Lord Arundel.

Byleth decided to change the subject. "What sort of interests does Lady Edelgard have? I would like to find common ground as soon as possible so that I may start with my best foot forward."

"She is very fond of reading. It was one of the few hobbies she has maintained ." He sighed, sounding both exasperated and concerned. "She used to enjoy walking the grounds, or riding, but since she has been more volatile Lord Arundel has forbidden her from going out alone, and she refuses to go with him or anyone else for that matter. She is also a proficient painter, and she used to enjoy writing, but she seems to have lost interest."

He paused for a moment, bringing them to a halt before entering the door before them. He looked as though he wished to say something to her but in the end he kept it to himself and simply opened the door revealing the room beyond to be an impressively large and well stocked library. "You'll find her in here most days, or in her rooms. She has a lady's maid, Ladislava, who will attend her whenever you are unavailable. You will have one day off to attend to personal matters and spend however you like. Pay day is at the end of each month. I will be providing you with the majority of your direction and assessment of your work here, however Lord Arundel is ultimately your employer and will be the one to ultimately decide how long your tenure here will be."

"Lord Arundel?" she asked, unable to completely hide her surprise. "Forgive me, I understand that Lady Blaiddyd is not well, but I had still thought that it would be she who I reported to, aside from yourself of course."

"Lady Blaiddyd defers to her brother on most matters these days. You will likely see very little of her, no matter how long you are with us. She is not fond of visitors or strangers, and even avoids most of the staff." He wasn't quite as irritated when he spoke of the lady of the house, but there was something else marring his words… frustration perhaps, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Understood." She calmly brought her bearing back into check. Maintaining a calm and serene disposition was something she had been careful to cultivate over the years. It made it easier to gauge one's company. Giving away next to nothing often meant those she interacted with worked just a little bit harder to coax some sort of reaction out of her. This in turn made them reveal all the more about themselves. She was after all, a woman traversing the world on her own. While she was perfectly capable of handling herself, thanks to her father's teachings, and an excellent education, she was still fully aware that she was at a disadvantage in most situations she may find herself in.

This initial façade she presented, however, sometimes gave strangers the impression that she was cold. "Frigid" had been used to describe her more than once. It had bothered her at first, but in the end the only opinions that mattered were those to whom she was employed and considering all her references thus far had been glowing she considered this a non-issue.

"I'll introduce you for now. Then take you to your room. You'll be able to settle in for today. Tomorrow will be your first full day with Lady Edelgard."

Byleth nodded silently and followed as he led her through the almost cathedral like library. They passed rows and rows of shelves stacked high with books. Above them was a second floor gallery with even more. She could tell just by looking at them that they ranged from recent publications to what appeared to be ancient tomes and texts, the covers dusty, some holding together by mere threads. She may need to put off exploring the estate to spend one or two or more days perusing the Blaiddyd's impressive collection.

He brought her to the spiral stairs that lead up to the gallery and then to a row of bay windows overlooking the Abbey's gardens. Sitting at the farthest window, knees pulled up to her chest, lavender eyes staring vacantly out at the world beyond the glass, was a slender young woman with hair so platinum pale it was almost white. She didn't seem to notice them as they approached until Master Cichol cleared his throat.

Reluctantly the woman at the window pulled her gaze away from the garden to regard them with pronounced disinterest. "Lady Edelgard, this is Miss Byleth Eisner. She is to be your new companion from this day forward."

Byleth bowed respectfully before greeting her new charge. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Edelgard."

The pale young woman was silent for a moment. Byleth watched as the glassy look in her eyes started to fade, replaced with clarity. "You're young." she said finally.  


"Yes, I suppose I am. Have you had many companions before?"

"A few. They were more akin to nursemaids and governesses, however."

"And how did you find them?"

"Stodgy and boring."

Byleth allowed the sliver of a grin to crack her normally impassive expression. Despite the steward's warning, Lady Edelgard seemed quite talkative indeed. "I shall endeavor to avoid such behavior if that is your preference."

"Am I permitted a preference now?" she directed this to the steward.

"You are a Lady of this house." he replied stiffly. It wasn't exactly an answer and all three of theme appeared keenly aware of that. None of them, however, decided to address it.

"Why did you come here?" Lady Edelgard asked bluntly, turning back to Byleth.

"Because I felt was needed." She answered without hesitation.

"You don’t know anything about us, about _me_."

"Getting to know you and what specifically you require of me is part of my job. If you find you are unsatisfied with my company then you may dismiss me." Byleth said calmly.

"I will not be given much choice one way or the other." Disdain coated each word. Byleth already knew who it must be directed at. She was beginning to dread her inevitable encounter with Lord Arundel.

"That may be, but it is your opinion that ultimately matters the most to me and with regards to my work. If I cannot help you then I am failing at my task."

Lady Edelgard paused again, her gaze even more scrutinizing. Byleth gazed back. She was used to being sized up and judged by strangers. Though this family was strange, their daughter perhaps the strangest of them all, she couldn't deny that she already felt a sort of kinship with her. They were both alone but in different ways. They both had their own minds and opinions, and at least to Byleth, the young lady felt free enough to speak hers.

"You will join us for dinner?" She asked eventually.

"If that is your wish."

"Good. Perhaps mother will even make an appearance."

"I should show Miss Eisner to her rooms now, and allow her to get settled." The steward cut in. Lady Edelgard simply nodded and immediately returned her eyes to the windows. She did not speak another word.

Once they were out of the library and a good distance away the steward spoke. "I must say this is rather… unexpected. She has spoken more to you just now than she has in… Goodness! I think it has been weeks." Byleth remained silent. She didn't know what to make of it anymore than he did.

"It is a good sign, I think." he continued. "I do hope you are able to help her, truly."

"As do I. She seems very bright and clever as you said, but troubled…"

They traversed the shadowy and cavernous halls and Byleth experienced the strange sensation that she was losing time, for it seemed they had been walking for much longer than they actually were. When they reached the room that was intended for her the clock on the mantle said it was only half past noon, and she had arrived just before midday.

"This hall is where the family's living quarters are, yours is the last of the occupied rooms. It used to belong to one of the boys. Its not quite proper for to you be quite so close but we can't afford to open up the rooms further along. Too much wasted effort, the staff doesn't have time to scour the entire Abbey. Lady Edelgard's room is just across the hall from yours. There is a bath attached to your room, should you wish for hot water you may ring and someone will bring it up for you." He gestured to a chain affixed to the wall near the door before continuing on.

"The fire will be lit for you in the mornings and evenings as it is winter. Breakfast is between seven and ten in the morning. The family are not typically early risers. Luncheon will be at noon. Both these meals will be in the morning room. Dinner is at six sharp in the dining hall. I will come retrieve you today and show you the way. Since you missed luncheon, I'll have a tray brought up for you while you get your things in order here."

Byleth looked down at the simple canvas bag she held in her hands, and the small trunk that a servant had brought up ahead of them. There wasn't much for her to get in order, but she would not complain about having a few moments to herself.

Master Cichol made to leave, but then paused. "I should mention, as this is an old building there are passages behind the walls linking the rooms together, though they are all locked up now. Lord Arundel has the only set of keys. They were once used by servants so that they may move about the Abbey without disturbing the family and their guests. You may hear strange sounds or knocking behind the walls but I assure you its just the drafts and creaking of an old abbey."

He moved to a panel of the wall just next to the fireplace and knocked. The sound rang hollow. He then pushed against it and it did creak but the panel did not give way. "In case you were wondering where it was should you hear anything strange. But as I said, those passages are no longer in use so you do not need to fear having one of the staff surprise you. We all use the main doors and will knock before entering."

"Thank you, Master Cichol. You have been very kind." She had to try and hide her excitement at learning of the secret passages. It was a guilty pleasure of hers, discovering such things about these old places. She knew that they had quite mundane purposes as the steward had already explained. They were for servants to move about unseen, or in some cases provided escape routes for the family should the hold have come under attack in more volatile and feudal times. Still, they lent an air of mystery and intrigue that Byleth couldn't deny she found illogically compelling.

If she were to hazard a guess, she supposed it was the hypothetical it offered. Old forgotten places, hidden rooms, buried treasure - who knew what one might find if they were to venture into these places. Her rational side knew it was likely to be a great deal of dust and cobwebs, perhaps some forgotten articles of no importance dropped by servants and never recovered. But one's imagination could be a powerful thing.

"If you need anything just ring. Lord Arundel does prefer decorum during dinner so you will want to change out of your traveling clothes."

"Understood, and thank you again." She meant it. The steward did not have to be so forthcoming or helpful. She'd encountered many a head servant who thought far too highly of themselves to be encouraging or supportive towards new staff members. Being a companion to a member of the family often left her existing in a strange place between staff and guest, and that sometimes left those in service with a feeling of resentment towards her. Master Cichol at least did not seem fond of excessive pretense, and for that she was grateful.

He nodded solemnly at her. "Think nothing of it. I am at your disposal, Miss Eisner." And with that he left.

As she listened to his footsteps echo down the hall she allowed herself to relax a fraction while she scanned the room. It was large. Far larger than what she was accustomed to. But as it had once belonged to one of the family she supposed that made sense. Despite it being as large as it was however, it was sparsely furnished. There was a decent sized bed, a vanity with a pitcher and wash basin, and a single wardrobe. Before the hearth there was a solitary high-backed armchair and a small side table. Behind the vanity was a large window that looked out onto the back of the house which provided a view of the moors. The window and its view only served to make the space appear even more vast and empty than it already was.

She left her things by the bed and went to examine the bathroom. There was rather large porcelain bathtub in the centre of the room, a small set of drawers and a screen for changing in privacy. It too had a window that looked out upon the gloomy, grey moors.

She paused a moment before turning back to the bedroom, looking out at the barren landscape from the window. As she did a strange thought crept through her mind. _This land is haunted_ … She shook it loose immediately. She was not particularly prone to flights of fancy. Though she enjoyed exploring the unknown, musing upon things that might be, things lost to time - she was not in the habit entertaining superstitious ideas, or speculation. Reality was strange, mysterious and cruel enough without any need for mystical intervention to make it more interesting.

A knocking came from the bedroom so she returned, expecting it to be a servant with the tray of food, the steward had mentioned, but when she opened the door no one was there, and no tray had been left behind. She closed the door and just stood there, listening in silence. No further knocking came. She let out a sigh, exasperated with herself that she would already be so jumpy. Master Cichol had warned her had he not?

In an effort to distract herself from her own foolishness she set about meticulously stowing away what few belongings she had brought with her. The few gowns she owned went into the wardrobe, her other garments into the drawers. She had little else beyond a few treasured books that had once belonged to her father, and a portrait of him and her mother that might be mistaken for a portrait of him and her, she being so similar in appearance to the woman she regretfully had never met. She set it upon one of bed side tables, just as another knock came at the door.

This time she was certain it was real and upon opening she found a young girl with mousey brown hair and a lovely dusting of freckles upon her cheeks. "If you please, Miss. Master Cichol said to bring some food up for you." She was a jumpy, shy little thing. Byleth liked her immediately.

"Thank you. I suppose you can leave if over there by the armchair." Without a word the girl scurried in and deposited the tray and was almost out of the room, but Byleth stopped her. "Before you go, might I know your name? I shall be here for a while and I should like to get to know the rest of the staff."

"Oh! It's Fleche, Miss."

"Good to meet you, Fleche. You may call me Miss Eisner if you like." The girl didn't respond, merely nodded, though she did look slightly more at ease. "I suppose I'll see you quite a bit while I'm here."

"I suppose, Miss." She did not sound certain.

"I shan't keep you. I'm sorry if I'm distracting you from your work. But perhaps I may come visit you in the kitchen? I should like to see more of the house eventually."

"If its alright with cook, Miss."

"Very well. It _was_ good to meet you Fleche."

"And you, Miss." She blurted before bolting down the hall like a shot. Byleth wondered if the girl was merely afflicted with an intense shyness or whether it was something else that left her so skittish. Perhaps Lord Arundel was quite strict in how he ran this household… Though Master Cichol seemed quite calm and not overly severe. Perhaps it was simply his seniority compared to the young lady's that accounted for the difference in their temperaments.

She brushed it off for now, turning to the tray which was stacked with a decent helping of bread, cheese and fruit, accompanied by a pot of hot tea. She soon realized how famished she was and in a matter of minutes she had finished the entire plate, and drained the entire pot.

Once she was finished with her meal she exchanged her traveling clothes for something more appropriate for dinner. Thankfully there was water in the pitcher. It must have been warm at some point but now was quite cool. She didn't mind however, and quickly washed up and made herself as presentable as she could be though her attire was quite plain, and she'd never been one for primping no matter what the occasion was. Once she was done she looked about her room at a bit of a loss for what to do next.

She thought better of wandering the Abbey on her own on her first day, so she picked up one of her father's books, curled up in the armchair and began to read. She did not hear any other strange sounds as she sat there, engrossed in her book. In fact she did not even notice when the light started to fade and the room was nearly entirely shrouded in shadow until there was another knock at the door. She set her book down and answered it to find Cichol there to take her down to dinner.

"My apologies, Miss Eisner. Someone should have been up here to check on the lamps some time ago." He said, looking shocked at how dark it was in her room.

"It's alright. It's my first day here. I expect this room was just overlooked out of habit. And in any case I don’t mind the dark." she assured him.

"Regardless, I shall see to it that this does not happen again."

With that he lead her away to the dining hall.

* * *

Dinner was a strange affair. Lady Blaiddyd did attend, which appeared to be a shock to everyone present, including her brother, though no one made any comment on it. Lord Arundel and his sister looked almost nothing like Lady Edlegard but for the same lavender coloured eyes that they all shared. His hair was dark and kept long, in a fashion that was in style quite a few years ago. He was not pale like his sister and niece. In general he looked far more vital than either of them.

Lady Blaiddyd was practically skeletal. Her eyes had a vacant, glassy quality to them, perhaps the same quality Byleth had seen in her daughter's when she had first met her in the library. Her hair was darker, like her brother's, but duller. It didn't carry the same healthy shine to it, and it was dry and frizzy, though otherwise well kept. She ate hardly a thing, picking at each dish that was brought before her, and eating only a few mouthfuls at most. She didn't speak during the whole meal. When she managed to focus her gaze on anything it was on her daughter. Byleth wasn't even sure if she knew she was there at all.

Lady Edelgard focused primarily on her food. Unlike her mother she seemed to have a healthy appetite. From time to time she would watch Byleth, her eyes assessing carefully. She spoke only when spoken to, which was rare. Lord Arundel hardly paid either his sister or his niece much mind. Like his niece, his gaze was often on Byleth, sizing her up. Unlike his niece however, his gaze held a distinctly predatory quality that over the course of the meal, set Byleth's nerves on edge.

"Tell me about yourself, Miss Eisner. I have read your resume and your references, but I should like to hear your story from you directly." He prompted her as they were finishing the main course. His tone was amiable, but she couldn't shake the feeling that his words were tinged with something unsavory.

"I'm not sure what else I can add. My father was a professor and explorer. My mother died shortly after I was born. I had an unusual upbringing as a result. My father took me with him on all his travels and taught me much of what I know himself. When he died I was sent to boarding school until I was seventeen. I then left to be a governess, but I found it did not suit. I'm afraid I take after my father in that I rarely stay in one place for more than a few years." She paused looking to Lady Edelgard briefly, but the other woman was merely watching her, with a placid expression on her face. "The rest is all detailed in my references, though if there is anything in particular you should like to know I would be happy to elaborate."

"You don't seem keen on revealing details of your life, though the one you have led., and for one as young as yourself, is quite unusual. Even more so for a young lady."

"I suppose that is true. I must confess I do not enjoy talking about myself. I prefer to listen. I find it much more useful in my work."

"Educated, well traveled and modest. You are quite the young woman." Byleth didn't enjoy flattery at the best of times. Flattery from this man made her skin crawl.

"I prefer practical." she replied simply.

Lord Arundel grinned and it seemed out place in a room filled with three other people who were clearly uncomfortable, and only becoming more so the longer they sat there. "As you say, Miss Eisner. Why not tell us of your travels off continent then. What sort of exotic things did you see in Almyra?"

He said this last part while glancing at his niece. To Byleth the question seemed designed specifically to tease the poor girl who had been forbidden even from walking the grounds of their estate without a chaperone. Lady Edelgard however, showed no signs of irritation. She showed no emotion at all. She merely kept her eyes focused her food.

"It is hotter than Fódlan, much hotter than Faerghus. It never snows there. I was assisting an old colleague of my father's at the time. Some Agarthan ruins had been uncovered and he'd been called upon to help with the dig. He knew my father had trained me well to work on a dig sight so he brought me along as his assistant." She began to go into every nitty-gritty detail about the work she did with Professor Hanneman. Watching as the amusement left Lord Arundel's eyes while she bored him on purpose with her dry tales of scrounging around in the dirt, cataloging and corresponding with universities.

She didn't stop until their meal was over and he was thoroughly bored out of his mind. He bid them all a quick good night and went to retire to his rooms.

Lady Edelgard caught her as she was leaving, looping her arm with hers as they walked back to their rooms together. "That was an interesting technique." She said nonchalantly, only the barest hint of amusement in her voice.

"I've had others attempt to parade me about for their amusement before. I am not fond of the exercise."

"Well I found it quite entertaining indeed."

"Then I am glad."

As they came to their rooms Byleth watched as her charge's demeanor changed as she eyed Byleth's room her posture becoming stiff. "They gave you that room?"

"Yes. Master Cichol did mention it used to belong to one of the family." Lady Edelgard didn't respond. "Is something the matter?"

The pale haired woman blinked as if to clear her mind and then shook her head. "It's nothing. It will be… nice to have you so near I think."

Byleth smiled warmly. "Good night, my Lady."

"Good night, Miss Eisner."

* * *

Once she was back in her room Byleth found a crackling fire in the hearth, the lamps lit, and a fresh pitcher of hot water waiting for her. She quickly stripped out of her evening clothes and into her nightgown, washed up, and grabbed her book. She turned down the lights, lighting a candle so that she had enough light to read by, and then climbed into bed.

Though she had thought she wasn't that tired, it turned out the events at dinner had been quite draining. Very soon after she'd gotten under the covers, she found her eyelids starting to droop. Begrudgingly she set her book down and blew out her candle. Moments later she was fast asleep, though she did not sleep soundly.

She often had this nightmare…

She walked a dark alley alone. She called her father's name, but though she could see him before her just a few yards away, he never answered. Not until it was too late. Sometimes the nightmare would end and she would never reach him, merely chase him endlessly. Sometimes however, she did reach him, finding him covered in blood, his body cold in her arms. Too late to save him. His final words a jumbled mess in her memory. She could no longer remember what he'd said and it tortured her to this day. He'd smiled so warmly at her, his eyes full of pride, while hers had been filled with tears.

How could she have forgotten his words…?

* * *

Byleth bolted upright with a gasp, her breathing ragged. She suddenly felt cold though the blankets she had just been buried under should have been plenty warm enough. Looking to the fireplace she saw the coals were still burning, and the servants had left extra logs should she need them. She knew she would not be getting back to sleep any time soon, so she crawled out of bed, pulling her shawl over her shoulders and went to stoke the fire.

As she waited for fresh flames to catch she replayed the nightmarish scene in her head. Sometimes she wished he hadn't smiled at her. It only made her feel more guilty that she hadn't been there soon enough, that she hadn't been quick or clever enough. That she had failed him, yet he still looked up at her like she was his salvation…

Once the fire was crackling away she stood and was about to take a seat in the chair when she thought she saw movement to the left of the fireplace, in the shadows where the steward had showed her the secret door. She went motionless, blinking to try and adjust her eyes to the semidarkness. Was that a draft she felt?

Just when she was about to give it up, reprimand herself for being such a foolish ninny, she saw it again and she froze. Before she could call out there was a flash of movement and then she was pulled into the shadows with whatever it was.

After a moment she realized it felt like a man. A hand covered her mouth, preventing her from calling for help while the other caught her left hand and pinned it to the wall behind her by her wrist. She pushed back against him with her remaining free hand but it was like trying to fight a brick wall, all she met was indomitable resistance. "What's this then? A little lost lamb, in _my_ room?" A voice rumbled out from the dark. A voice so low and hoarse she had to strain to hear it.

There should have been enough light to see by now that the fire was going but whoever, or whatever it was restraining her seemed to almost be comprised of shadows. Her heart pounded against her rib cage. She had been in a situation like this one other time - another nightmare that had left a scar on her soul that could never heal. She could feel panic rising, bubbling up from her gut like bile.

Her attacker seemed to take notice and eased off on the pressure he was applying to hold her in place. But his voice remained harsh as he spoke. "My poor little lamb. You should not have come here. This place is cursed. Leave before it consumes you too, pretty little lamb."

She could see some of his features now, but she wasn't sure if it was the panic or the dark for she still couldn't see everything. An icy blue eye, a cruel sneer, long pale hair - That was all she could glimpse before even the glow of the fire started to go dark, then the room and her attacker along with it. It all started to fall away becoming one with the shadows.


	2. Rat in the Walls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's taking me a while to get through this one, mostly because I'm paranoid about getting this genre at least partially right. 
> 
> It's also turning out to be a bit of a slower burn than I was originally intending but I'll hopefully be getting to some juicier content in the next chapter. Hopefully I can get future chapters out quicker than this one.

Byleth woke with a start when she heard something clatter to the floor. As she sat up she found a scullery maid crouched over a small pile of spilled ashes as she tried to sweep them up as quietly as possible. The young girl jumped when she saw Byleth move. "I'm sorry, Miss. I'm not supposed to wake you when I come to do the fire."

Byleth looked to the light trickling through curtains, then turned back to squint at the clock on the mantle. It was six in the morning. She might as well get and up make an attempt to forget her troubling dreams.

"It's quite alright. I usually rise early anyway." The maid didn't look convinced but she continued with her work and was soon on her way.

She could still feel the sweat cooling on her brow. Troubled as her dreams had been, she'd gotten no rest at all. The dream of the man in the shadows had seemed so real. She could still feel his hand pressed against her mouth and her wrist - how he hadn't budged at all when she'd tried to push him away…

It didn't feel like a dream, even now. Though she had awakened in bed as if nothing had happened, something kept niggling in the back of her mind. She needed to be certain.

Swinging her legs out from under the covers she went straight to the panel that supposedly led to the passage behind the walls and pressed her hand against it. Then both hands. It seemed to shift slightly but did not budge. She put all her weight behind one final shove but the panel held fast. Finally, feeling quite the fool, she knocked three times and waited as though it was completely reasonable and rational to expect an answer.

With an exasperated sigh she spun away from the panel and berated herself. "Good Gods, girl! You've only been here one night and already you're behaving like a superstitious half-whit."

She didn't know what had come over her. She'd never been so rattled simply from spending the night in an unfamiliar or strange place. She'd encountered and survived much worse than Garreg Mach Abbey. And yet now, here of all places that memory had resurfaced… Why _had_ the memory of that horrible night reared its ugly head now?

Dreaming of her father was a regular occurrence in her life. She had long been resigned to the fact that it would haunt her for the rest of her days. But that wretched night… She had not dreamed of it for several years. She had not even thought of it through the sheer power of her own will. She'd vowed never to put herself into such a position again. So far she never had, and she was determined that should be the end of it. That horrible night would not colour her life forever, she refused to let it.

The strange thing was, while the dream had only reminded her of what had happened back then, it was not in fact an exact reflection of that time. In the dream she had been in this room, and the man, though she could not make out his face, was not _Him._ The words he'd spoken she'd never heard before… Now that she thought more about it, it was the feeling that had called up memories of that night, not the imagery itself. The feeling of being trapped, of bodies too close together. Of losing control…

"Why _now_?" She muttered under her breath as she shed her night gown and changed into one of her simpler dresses. Her hands shook the entire time until she stood over the wash basin and splashed water into her face three or four or five times - willing the water to wash away her dark thoughts.

She was a little soggy when she was done but it would have to do. Master Cichol had said the family were not early risers so perhaps by the time they were up she would be dry, and presentable, and no one would be the wiser. Though when she caught her reflection in the vanity's mirror she could see dark circles around her eyes, and she looked nearly as pale as Lady Blaiddyd and Lady Edelgard. The contrast with her midnight dark hair did not help her complexion at all.

But there was nothing for it. She had come here to do a job, and she was determined to see it through. Now that she had met her charge, brief though their interactions were, she was even more convinced that she was needed here.

* * *

Her morning was relatively peaceful which was a welcome outcome considering the night she'd had. She took her breakfast leisurely and alone as she was up a good hour before the first member of the family emerged. She passed Lord Arundel as she was leaving for the library. He did not stop for conversation, merely nodded politely and they continued on their respective ways.

Byleth went directly to the library. She expected Lady Edelgard would find her way there in due time, and meanwhile she could take her time and peruse the vast treasure trove to her heart's content.

When she arrived she found herself drawn to a section of the library dedicated to history. She scanned through journals, tomes, encyclopedias on all manner of places and peoples. She even found a few of her father's published studies - a general, but thorough history of Fódlan, and another focused on ancient Almyran customs and how they compare to those of today's society. She smiled in spite of herself, finding some comfort in uncovering a small, yet unexpected piece of her father residing here. Her fingers traced the spines of her father's books affectionately before moving on.

She searched until she found a book on the Abbey itself, but hesitated before drawing it from the shelf. Perhaps it would be a good idea to do a bit of reading on the old drafty monolith before she did some exploring on her own, or was subjected to the gossip and rumours of staff or townsfolk. There was no guarantee it would be free of embellishments and bias, but it was written before the recent tragedies that had struck the Blaiddyd family, and therefore at least, it would not be coloured by those events.

Clutching her prize to her chest she found a cozy enough place by the first floor windows. Byleth soon discovered that it too was quite a thorough history, beginning right from the Abbey's very foundation. It was indeed centuries old, built by a Blaiddyd ancestor, a holy knight named Loog who had returned from his holy crusades with wealth, and riches, and honor bestowed upon him by church and crown. He'd built it over a pagan site of worship to further prove his piety, replacing the beliefs of the old with the new, and here it has stood ever since. It had weathered several wars and even a fire. She recalled noticing parts of the exterior which had looked to have seen significant repairs at some point, but from what she had been able to see so far, the Abbey showed little sign that it had undergone so much turmoil.

Of the Abbey itself she learned of the chapel - one of the oldest parts of the Abbey, built by Loog himself. It was said it was build over the exact place that the pagan's had once used for worship but that was merely speculation at the time the book had been written, for the family had never permitted anyone to excavate any part of the Abbey. Later additions included the stables and gatehouse, a greenhouse, three additional towers to accompany the first two, the chapterhouse a whole second wing of bedrooms, studies and so on.

The grounds apart from the main building was an ice house, hunting lodge, several cottages, and a crypt where Blaiddyd's long dead had been lain to rest as far back as Loog himself.

As she read on she discovered that the Blaiddyd family was quite familiar with tragedy and quite a few Blaiddyd's must be entombed in the family crypt. In fact their line had narrowly avoiding being prematurely ended several times over. All the while the Abbey had been with them through it all, a constant backdrop to so much calamity.

_You should not have come here. This place is cursed._

A shiver ran down her spine and she paused in her reading, sitting up straight as a board. She had been doing so well finding distracting herself from that wretched dream until now…

"You look as though you've seen a ghost." Lady Edelgard's dry yet amused voice struck her, knocking Byleth out of her stupor.

Byleth managed not to betray her own embarrassment, blinking away her momentary trance. "Good morning, Lady Edelgard. I just had a peculiarly unpleasant thought come to mind. I suppose I must have appeared quite stunned."

The young woman smirked as her eyes drifted to the book in her hands. "Doing a bit of research are you?"

She did feel a little heat rise to her cheeks now. "Ah, I am found out. I confess, I've been quite intrigued by the Abbey, but was reluctant to barrage you all with my inquiries."

"I can give you a tour if you like." Byleth was a little surprised by the offer, but she seemed sincere.  


"I don't want to trouble you if there is something you would rather do, Lady Edelgard."

"Not at all. Now that you're here we're both free to move about as we please."

Byleth cocked her head to the side. That was as a little peculiar. "Have you been restricted from moving about the Abbey? Master Cichol had mentioned you required a chaperon to walk the grounds."

"No… I just prefer not to walk some parts of the Abbey alone, and I'm… particular about the company I keep while walking the grounds." The platinum haired girl became self conscious then, glancing away from her and wrapping her arms around herself. "I used to explore with - with my brother, when we were much younger."

"Then I should be happy to accompany you, Lady -"

"Just Edelgard, if you please. The title drives me quite mad the more I hear it."

"As you wish. Please call me Byleth then." Edelgard smiled, still seeming just a little nervous, but she looked happy to be giving Byleth a tour of her home. It was a little soon to be getting so informal but if it was to be a choice between formality and Edelgard's comfort she preferred the latter. "Where shall we begin?"

Edelgard looked to the window and Byleth followed her gaze. The morning mist was still clinging to the ground, but the sun was peaking through the grey clouds overhead. "I think I should like to start with the grounds."

"The fresh air would be nice I think." Byleth said with a grin.

They made their way back to their rooms to fetch their cloaks and change into their boots. Byleth brought the book with her so she could continue where she'd left off later that night.

She was just about ready to leave, but she found she seemed to have misplaced her shawl. No matter where she looked she couldn't seem to find it. Perhaps she'd left it out and a servant had stowed it away or taken it away to be laundered?

Eventually Edelgard knocked on her door, checking on her. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, quite alright. I just seem to have misplaced my shawl."

"You can borrow one of mine if you like." Edelgard ducked back into her room and returned shortly after with a vibrant red, woolen shawl in her hands. As Byleth took it she had to hold back a contented sigh. It was impossibly soft and lovely and warm. "This is beautiful. Are you certain? It's so fine…"

"Of course. Can't have you freezing after you've just arrived." she insisted. Byleth thanked her again and wrapped the garment around her shoulders, and then they were off.

* * *

Edelgard led them on a path that took them from the courtyard, down several stone steps to the Abbey's garden. Since it was the early days of winter there were no blooms, but she did see both red and black juniper berries dotting some of the shrubs along with winterberries, heather various other evergreens. As they passed a small wooden door in the Abbey wall they came through a well tended and vibrant herb garden. The door, Byleth assumed, must lead to the kitchens. She stopped to smell the rosemary and caught Edelgard watching her with a peculiar look.

"Are you very familiar with plants and… herbs?" she asked.

"I wouldn't claim to be an expert, but knowledge of such things has been useful to me. Knowing what herbs are appropriate for healing was particularly advantageous when your father was in the habit of getting himself into all sorts of scrapes and tricky situations. I had to learn it all as we went."

"My mother used to teach me about these sorts of things. She stopped when my brothers and sisters were gone…" She stated it as a cold fact, her tone strangely absent of any particular emotion, despite how grave the topic was.

Choosing to remain neutral Byleth stood and started walking on. "Well, if you should like to pick it up gain I can tell you want I know. Or we can learn together. I'm sure that library has more than one book on the subject."

"Perhaps." Was all she received in reply, but Edelgard didn't sound offended by the suggestion so Byleth counted it as a small victory.

So far she didn't know what to make of this whole situation. Though she had been warned that Edelgard was a difficult, troubled young woman, thus far she had appeared completely ordinary if somewhat melancholy. Under the circumstances that seemed completely reasonable.

As they continued on, they walked through a small orchard on their way to the cemetery, the centrepiece of which was a large mausoleum. They passed by a few plots as they went, but Edelgard was leading them directly into the mausoleum itself and then down a stone staircase to the crypt that Byleth had just been reading of. Perhaps Lady Edeglard _was_ more peculiar than she had thought.

The pale woman took one of the lit torches from the entrance and carried it aloft as she led them onward into the dark.

"All my stepfather's family are buried here." She said. "Except for Dimitri…"

Byleth had heard he had disappeared, perhaps fled after his father died. Before that the only stories she'd seen of the son and heir of House Blaiddyd were of his successes in the military. He'd risen in the ranks fairly quickly, and many spoke of his proficiency in combat and battle tactics. Already he had seen multiple victories in battle. He was something of an anomaly among the nobility in that he was the firstborn heir of Lord Blaiddyd and did not require an occupation, yet when he'd come of age he signed a commission and joined up with they army almost immediately. Since then he'd made a name for himself keeping peace in Duscur. While many people of Faerghus looked unfavourably on their neighbors, and indeed from what she'd been reading, the Blaiddyd's had a long history of conflict with them - the heir of House Blaiddyd had been working to keep the peace between the two nations directly, largely focusing on protecting the people of Duscur from his own countrymen.

Some had thought this may have been the source of the falling out between father and son that had potentially led to the untimely death of Lord Blaiddyd and the disappearance of his heir. None close to either father or son had confirmed or denied this to the tabloids.

Did Edelgard think her stepbrother was dead then? Before she could ask, her companion continued. "My uncle and mother never come here. Not since he was entombed. I used to come here to meet - to meet someone important to me. Until they stopped visiting… Tell me, have _you_ ever been in love, Miss Eisner?"

She felt her frame stiffen at the question and sudden change in subject. It seemed she would not be permitted to forget one of her most hated memories today, despite all her efforts. She kept here eyes on the pair of caskets they stood before as she spoke. "I was, once." she admitted. "It did not end well. I was younger and very foolish… I did not see him for what he truly was."

"I am sorry then. Forgive me, I did not mean to trouble you with painful memories."

"You couldn't have known. In any case I have put it all behind me." _Or I thought I had_.

"I should not have said anything it's just… it's been so long since I've had someone to confide in. You've only just arrived and yet you're so easy to speak with."

"If you wish to confide in me then please do so, but only if you are comfortable. Regardless of what you decide, you have my word that whatever you say will remain between us. Although I must warn you. In matters of the heart, I'm afraid I'm a poor candidate to offer advice. But I can listen if that is what you require."

Edelgard smiled but paused before speaking. She looked to the caskets before them. The effigy of tall, broad shouldered man was carved into the surface of one. His bearded face smiled out into the dark crypt, his eyes and mouth creased with laugh lines. The Blaiddyd crest was emblazoned upon a shield that lay over his chest. Next to him was a woman, young and beautiful, and just has happy as her partner. "I miss him. I liked him, he was always so kind. I don't think he would have disapproved of Hubert."

"Your uncle sent him away?" Byleth did not have to ask who Edelgard was speaking of.

"Yes. He is not of the nobility you see, though his family is wealthy, successful and honorable. And Hubert is clever, so clever…"

"And he loved you?" Edelgard's expression became soft and wistful. It was the first time Byleth had seen her look completely unguarded.

"I think so. I thought so… He can appear quite cold to strangers, unfeeling even. But then so can I."

"Is there nothing that can be done to change your uncle's mind?"

"No. He is set on his path. Whatever dark business brought him to the Abbey… He has decided it will not include Hubert, or permit me to leave it the family."

Byleth's head tilted to the side, silently questioning.

Edelgard started, realizing she spoke rather cryptically and perhaps unintentionally. "I've maybe said too much. Be careful of my uncle, Miss Eisner. He is a ruthless man, whether you are family or not."

A frown drew down the corners of Byleth's mouth as she regarded her companion. "I will keep my eyes open. Edelgard, are _you_ safe here?"

Edelgard blinked, looking shocked at the very idea that she might be unsafe in this place. Or perhaps it was that someone who was practically stranger would even ask. "I believe so. Whatever my uncle is doing, I think he seeks to control my mother and I, but not harm us."

She didn't know if she was convinced, and even if control was all he wanted that wasn't much of a reassurance, but she held her tongue. "Let's return to the house. We've spent enough time with the dead for one day I think, and I could do with a cup of tea."

"Tea sounds lovely."

Edelgard smiled and led the way back out of the crypt. Byleth hung back a moment, glancing one last time at the pair of caskets that contained the remains of Lord Lambert Blaiddyd and his first wife. But as she turned to follow she thought she heard something. A scraping sound… then whispered voices? She stopped in her tracks and strained to hear. The sound came again from behind the caskets - scraping against the stone and voices, but she could not make out any words.

"What is it?" Edelgard asked, having noticed she'd fallen behind.

"I thought I'd heard something…"

"Rats, most likely. Or maybe ghosts. We used to hear all sorts of strange things down here." She sounded completely unsurprised and uninterested so Byleth turned away from where she'd thought she'd heard the sound and followed Edelgard back to the surface.

* * *

They returned to the Abbey through the kitchens. They had been out longer than she had realized and had missed luncheon. This was no problem as it turned out that the cook, who simply went by "Cook" had set aside cold meats, cheese, bread and some soup for when they inevitably did return.

They took their meal in the kitchens, and Byleth was introduced to some of the other members of the staff - the girls who assisted Cook, of which Fleche was one, a handful of scullery maids and footmen, the lady's maid to Lady Blaiddyd and the butler. Fleche's brother Randolph, one of the assistants to the gamekeeper, stopped in to check on his sister while they were there. He was quite a bit older than his sister, closer to Edelgard and Byleth in age.

"You must be Miss Eisner?"

"I am indeed."

"Welcome! It's nice to see a new face. We don't see all that many out here. How are you liking the Abbey so far?"

"Very mysterious, but I am quite fond of mysteries."

"Well you're in for plenty of that out here on the moors." Fleche's brother was quite amiable, and much less skittish than his sister. He was forthcoming with all sorts of information, regardless of the fact that one of the ladies of the house was present. Though Edelgard didn't seem to mind, in fact she listened with just as much interest as Byleth, her eyes often shifting to rest on her waiting for Byleth's reaction to Randolph's tales.

He told her of how people often heard wailing while out walking alone on the moors. Some of the groundskeepers and farmers had seen glowing lights, will-o'-wisps, circling the Abbey at night. And then there were the ghosts seen in the Abbey itself. It wasn't until he brought up the Abbey's ghosts that he finally seemed to remember who was included in his audience.

"Uh, forgive me, Lady Edelgard. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Don't trouble yourself, Randolph. I've heard them all before. Go on, Miss Eisner seems interested."

"If you're sure, ma'am." Edelgard nodded, a smirk tilting up the corner of her mouth, and an amused glint still dancing in her eyes.

Clearing his throat nervously in an attempt to regain his composure, Randolph continued. "Well, the most famous story is about the first Lady Blaiddyd, the wife of the holy knight Loog. A year after the Abbey was completed he had moved his family in to take residence. Things were good for a time. His children grew strong, the land required work but eventually became prosperous and fruitful. But one particularly foggy day, the Lady was out riding alone. She'd been warned not to go out on such days but she loved riding and sometimes the urge to be out in the open air on the back of her beloved mare was so strong she could not deny it."

"Supposedly her horse was spooked by something in mist, and the Lady took a fall near the standing stones on the ridge. On a clear day they can be seen from the Abbey, but the fog was thick that day. It took them hours to find her after they realised she had not returned, and when they brought her back to the Abbey she did not wake for days."

"The Lord called for healers, apothecaries, priests - even magicians and sorcerers, but none of them could wake her. In the end she woke on her own, screaming in the middle of the night. At first she seemed to speak only nonsense. When they were finally able to calm her she spoke of spirits and curses. She begged her husband to quit the Abbey, but how could he after driving the pagans off the land and spending years building their home?"

"Lady Blaiddyd warned that the spirits of the pagans still clung to the land, that they had cursed it, and all those who now resided here. Their line would seen tragedy up on tragedy if they did not leave this land."

"The doctors thought she had hit her head in her fall and was perhaps was now mad. The sorcerers and magicians said they could detect no ill magic or lingering curses. And so the Lady's warnings went unheeded. Lady Blaiddyd deteriorated quite quickly after that. Heartbroken that her husband did not believe her, and haunted by the voices of the dead that she claimed called to her in the night, she eventually threw herself from the cliffs near the Abbey. The townsfolk say her body was never found, but she is entombed with the rest of the family in the crypt."

"And her ghost haunts the halls of the Abbey to this day?" Byleth asked with a lop sided grin.

"Ah, just so, Miss." Randolph said bashfully. "She's usually seen on the days when the mist is thickest, or during storms, though I don't know anyone alive today who's actually seen her. Just gossips and hearsay."

"So they're all just stories then?" She asked, unable to hide the amusement in her voice.

Randolph grinned back, clearly aware of how foolish these tales sounded. "Likely, miss. Though the moors can play tricks on you, no matter how superstitious one may or may not be. I've seen strange things myself. No ghosts however."

Byleth glanced around the room. Several other staff members had paused to linger while Randolph told his story. They all looked familiar with the tale, and vaguely amused just as Edelgard had been. The only one that appeared ill at ease was his sister, Fleche. "Are you alright, Fleche?"

The young woman jumped at the mention of her name, but nodded her head.

"I've been teasing her with these stories since she was a kid." Randolph reached over to ruffle her hair but Fleche dodged his hand with a swift, practiced movement. "You’ve never seen the White Lady, though, have you Fleche?"

"No, never."

"And you likely never shall." Byleth said, trying to reassure her. "These stories come about as a means of explaining the unexplainable of bygone eras. But they are just stories."

Fleche didn't look fully convinced but she did offer a weak smile.

"Thank you for indulging us, Randolph. You're quite a storyteller."

Turning bashful again, Randolf blushed, avoiding her gaze. "It was nothing, Miss. Ask anyone around here and they can tell you the same story and then some. Likely better than I could as well."

"All the same, it was a tale well told. We shouldn't take up any more of your time, though I think."

"My pleasure, Miss Eisner, Lady Edelgard."

As Byleth and Edelgard made their way upstairs an awkward silence descended upon them. Eventually as they emerged on the main floor and turned towards the library Edelgard spoke. "You are not superstitious at all then?"

"No. I enjoy a good ghost story, but that is all they are to me, stories. That being said, I'm not immune to… unnerving situations. But I think that’s more of a self preservation instinct than belief in supernatural elements."

"I see." Edelgard sounded almost disappointed.

Byleth elaborated. "I'm not completely closed to the idea that there is something more out there. Things yet unexplained, or even more spiritual in nature. There is so much we don’t know, and such a vast world yet to be fully explored. But truly, I think there is a logical explanation for all unexplained phenomena. I do not accept that lack of explanation or evidence counts as proof of the supernatural, merely that In some cases we simply have yet to find the means to uncover the truth."

She couldn't help feeling a bit of a hypocrite after what she'd experienced the night before, but she truly did believe there was a rational explanation for even that. Either it had been a dream, a trick her travel weary mind was playing on her, or there was a man lurking in the space behind the walls. One possibility was much more frightening than the other, but there _was_ a reasonable explanation. She was certain.

Edelgard was silent for a moment. She seemed to prefer taking her time and thinking carefully before she spoke more often than not. "I suppose for me there is some comfort in knowing that those who have died may still be with us. It is somewhat more disconcerting to think that most evil done in this world is done by human minds and hands, or simply the result of poor luck. But it is reassuring in a sense, to think that there is something to actually blame, even if it is just as out of our control. But you're saying that is essentially the point?"

"Essentially. Having an answer, even the wrong one can be reassuring."

"Do you not believe in the gods then?"

"I… I don't know. I find it difficult to believe that the gods we are told to trust are kind, caring and benevolent could allow such cruelty to persist in the world. That they would create life and then abandon it to pain and suffering and chance…" As she spoke she felt a burning pain in her chest and her hand subconsciously moved to rest over the ridges of a scar just below her left collar bone. She hadn't noticed her heart had started to race, or that her breathing had become shallower.

"Byleth?"

She snapped back into the moment upon hearing her name. "I'm sorry, Edelgard." She dropped her hand, the pain and the memories pushed aside once again. "It seems I can't keep from dredging up memories of things I'd rather forget today…"

"Why don't you rest before dinner? You were traveling almost all day yesterday, and you look rather tired."

"That may be just what I need."

Edelgard smiled in answer and looped her arm with Byleth's as they walked the rest of the way to their rooms. Byleth apologised before they parted ways. "I must ask your forgiveness, Edelgard. I'm supposed to be caring for you."

"It does not necessarily follow that I may not care for you as well." Edelgard gave her another soft smile and then ushered her through the door to her room "I'll send someone up to make sure you're ready to come down for dinner."

"Thank you, Edelgard."

"Of course." She said, her smile remaining warm and sincere before turning into her own room.

Byleth's room was chillier now, the fires from the morning having fully gone cold. Byleth pulled the lovely red shawl that Edelgard had lent her more tightly around her, took up a woven blanket from the bed and went to sit with her book by the fireplace. She thought of lighting the fire. There was wood and kindling left should she need it, but she decided to leave it. The room was not so cold that she couldn't manage with just a few extra layers.

Try as she might, however, she couldn't seem to focus on the words before. Her eyelids were starting to droop and her mind kept wandering back to darker times… Dimly lit alleys, blood on cobblestones, dark rooms, alcohol on his breath, burning metal against her skin…

She drifted off to a fitful sleep. The darkness was occasionally interrupted by a gentle voice, soft touches stroking her cheek. But she could never make out who it was that offered these kindnesses, and soon enough they were overtaken by the dark once more.

She was startled awake by a knock at her door. As she blinked her eyes open she was surprised to find the fire lit. Had someone come in to light it while she slept? Surely she would have woken if they were right there in front of her. She wasn't that tired…

She had to shake off her bewilderment and recompose herself as she went to answer the door. The maid that had lit her fire that morning was there to let her know that dinner was in half an hour. Byleth thanked her, but as the girl started to leave she called her back and asked for a bath to be prepared for her that evening. Walking the grounds, spending time in the dusty crypt, and then falling asleep in her clothes had left her feeling desperate for a good long soak.

* * *

Dinner that night was quite a different affair than the night before. Lord Arundel did not join them, business having drawn him away, likely for the entire evening. No one appeared particularly put out by this news.

Lady Blaiddyd also did not join them, so Byleth and Edelgard enjoyed a quiet and uneventful meal in the smaller morning room. Edelgard spoke little, preferring to listen to Byleth's stories of her travels. She kept the topics light, both for herself and her companion, not wanting to darken the mood any more than they already had that day. Thankfully she succeeded. Dinner passed by in a flash. Even as the servants came to clear the table Byleth and Edelgard remained until Master Cichol came to let her know they had the hot water prepared for her.

"I'm so sorry, Master Cichol. I had lost track of the time."

"Not to worry, Miss Eisner. I was reluctant to interject as you both seemed to be enjoying your conversation. I'm happy to see things are going well." The steward smiled warmly and appeared genuinely relived. From what he had told Byleth upon her arrival Edelgard indeed did seem quite different from the girl he had described, though still reserved, and certainly troubled. At least she was feeling comfortable enough to converse with her.

"It is getting late." Edelgard smiled. "We should retire. We can continue where we left off tomorrow."

They returned to their rooms together, bid each other a good evening. The fire was already lit and the curtains drawn when she entered. After confirming that her bath was indeed ready for her in the adjoining room, Byleth shed her many layers. and braided her hair back as quickly as possible before submerging herself in the steaming water.

She leaned her head against the high back of the porcelain and closed her eyes, letting herself melt away into the warm water. She hadn't fully realised quite how tense she had been all day. She was no stranger to hard work and physical exertion, and today was certainly not one of her more trying days physically by comparison. Yet she felt exhausted. She knew it was largely mental strain she was experiencing, but was taking a toll on her body, but even that was striking her as odd.

She had thought the traumas of her past were behind her... Perhaps she had been fooling herself about all of it. Perhaps it was only a matter of time before the walls she had built up in her mind to hold back her most painful memories came crumbling down. But why now?

Her hand moved to her chest, to the scar over her heart, tracing the looping swirls of scar tissue. Shame inexplicably overcame her as she recalled how she had let that happen. How foolish she had been… But the shame was quickly replaced with frustration. Byleth had lived with that scar, a reminder of her foolishness, for years now. Not quite as long as she'd been living without her father, but long enough that she shouldn't be getting spooked by nightmares or crypts. She should have more control over herself…

Feeling as though she'd spoiled what would have otherwise been a relaxing bath, she set about scrubbing herself clean, taking her frustrations out on her own flesh. By the time she was done she was a little red and raw, but she didn't care. Despite how well things seemed to be going with Edelgard after just one day, she still felt as though she was failing.

She toweled off quickly and pulled her nightgown over her head and went to back to the bed room. The bath had left her more awake, restless, so she went to retrieve her book from the chair by the fireplace. As she drew closer she stopped in her tracks. Folded, and draped over the back of the chair was her shawl, the one she couldn't find that morning.

She hadn't heard anyone enter while she was in the other room… Reaching for it she brought it to her nose without really thinking and sniffed it. It did not smell as though it had been laundered. It smelled… strange - like dust, ash, and… rosemary and sandalwood? The scent instantly brought forth the shadowy image of the man from her dream last night.

Her eyes instantly darted to the secret door next to the fire place and to her surprise she saw that it was a crack open. Again she froze. She knew she was not dreaming this time. The fabric between her fingers, the slight draft coming from the opening in the wall - it was all real. The question was, what did she do now?

She could call for someone, but could she trust them? She didn't really know anyone at Garreg Mach. And if she left, by the time she returned the door might be closed and she'd look quite the fool… or mad…

No. She was a woman of reason. There was a reasonable explanation for this. Someone was playing tricks on her, trying to frighten her. To what end she did not know, but she was going to find out.

She wrapped her shawl around her shoulders, slipped her boots back on her feet, took up the candlestick from her bedside and went to the opening in the wall. Pressing her hand to the panel it swung into the passage beyond without resistance. It was dark beyond the little doorway, through there were streaks of moonlight trickling in through cracks in the walls. Moving to stand on the threshold, Byleth paused to listen. Wind whistled through the dark passage, and she thought she heard the faint echo of voices, though they must have been a great distance away.

With one final deep breath she crossed over into the space between the walls and started walking. It went in a straight line, leading away from the occupied bedrooms into the part of the house that Master Cichol had said was no longer in use. She passed by other doors, similar to the one that opened into her room. She stopped to press her hand against a few of them but they did not budge. Listening at these doors she heard only silence so she moved on.

The further she went, the more ridiculous she felt. What was she doing? It was the middle of the night, she was not familiar with this house, she was unarmed… More than once she considered turning back but the voices she'd heard from her room were getting louder the further she went, and her curiosity urged her onward.

As she walked the passage curved and twisted. She began to make notes of which turns she was taking, roughly the distance she had travelled. Luckily, thanks to her time exploring with her father and his colleagues she'd long since learned to memorise these things when traversing unfamiliar territory. Eventually she came to a stairwell leading both up and down from the floor she was on. She heard the voices she'd been following echoing up from below so down she went.

The stairs went down a ways without branching off to the point that she was certain she must be below ground. Though the voices were getting louder they were still so distorted that she couldn't make out any of words. Just as she was beginning to consider turning back she saw light ahead of her. Immediately her heart started racing in anticipation.

She continued down what seemed like roughly a story until the stairs opened up to gallery overlooking a circular chamber. Setting the candlestick down away from the door so as not to attract attention she leaned in slowly, peering over the ledge of the gallery to the chamber below.

Unnatural, eerie green flames lit the area beneath where she could see three robed figures, their faces obscured by heavy hoods. The voices had been their chants, in a tongue she thought might be familiar with, but she couldn't quite place it. They stood before a sort of alter or offering, though from where she was, in the strange green light she could not make out what object sat upon it.

The chamber itself was built of stone, similar to the older parts of the abbey. There were etchings or carvings on the walls on the ground floor of the chamber, but the shadows cast by the fire moved too much for her to be sure of what they depicted. She strained to hear more what they where saying, what their voices sounded like, but she hardly knew anyone here, and the chamber was so cavernous that even though they were right there, the sound was still distorted.

She stepped closer to the edge of railing taking cover near a pillar, hoping it would obscure her if any of the figures below were to glance up. Clutching the stone of the pillar for dear life she craned her neck as much as she could over the edge without letting the light cast by fire touch her. She almost thought she could make out the face of the figure in the centre. If she just got a little closer…

Just as she was about to move to the next pillar along the gallery something grabbed her from behind spinning her around and pinning her to the opposite wall, a hand coming up over her mouth to keep her from crying out.

"I thought I told you to quit this place, little lamb."

Byleth's whole frame tensed as once again her body reacted on instinct to being restrained by a tall, shadowy figure. Her heart was drumming even more quickly against her chest now, and her lungs burned as she tried not to lose control. Again he seemed to notice her distress and eased his grip on her slightly.

"Do not make a sound. Do not cry for help for the ones below will not help you." His tone was low, barely audible over the chanting. She nodded and he removed his hand from her mouth.

"What _ARE_ you? _WHO_ are you?" She hissed immediately.

He growled in response, his hands still pressing her into the wall by her shoulders. She tried to make out his features as she had the night before but he was still shrouded his darkness, the firelight behind him turning him into a black silhouette. "I'm just rat in the walls." He grit out through his teeth. "Neither dead, nor alive. If you do not wish to share my fate, or worse, then you should _leave_."

"I will not." She didn't know what was coming over her. He was right, whatever he was. This situation was becoming madder by the second and she would have to be mad herself to want to stay in a place like this. "Tell me what is going on here. Why are you lurking in the walls trying to frighten me? Who are those people?"

The shadow cursed under his breath as he took her by her arm and dragged her from the balcony and back into the stairwell. She didn't have time to grab her candlestick before they were heading back up the stairs. He pulled her along so quickly she lost track of how far they had gone, but she thought they had sped past the passage that led back to her room.

When they finally left the spiral stairs she yanked her arm free and stopped in her tracks. The passage he'd dragged her to was cast in moonlight and finally she could see his face. He looked surprisingly normal - not the shadow creature she had thought he might be. Though his golden hair was long and shaggy it only partially obscured his features. In the cold light of the moon he did look somewhat ethereal, his skin silvery pale, his blue eye stark and bright. He had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, covering his right eye. His clothes looked finely made, but worn, and dusty. As she looked closer she saw tears along his left arm, over the right side of his chest. Some of the tears had been patched up while others had not.

"Tell me who you are." She demanded, standing firm. She would not follow him until she knew more.

"It doesn't matter." He grunted, fidgeting restlessly. "The more you know the more danger you will be in. You shouldn't - you shouldn't even be able to see me…"

"What do you mean…?"

"No one sees me. No one hears me. Only the dead."

"Well I am not dead." Byleth replied crossing her arms over her chest.

"You… should not be here."

"Do you need help?" Why did she think he needed help when all he'd done so far was frighten her and try to drive her away?

He laughed, almost cruelly at her question. "I am far beyond any help you could give. Even if that were not the case, there is nothing a little lost lamb like you could do."

"Don't call me that." It was too similar to what _He_ had called her… _Why such a sour face, my little lost star? You always look so serious._

"Not a little lamb then… It matters not who or what you are - who I am. Heed me, I am trying to save your life."

"And if I do not wish to be saved? If I wish to help you and see the people of this house are safe?"

"Then you will share our fate. The dead of this place have been roused, they seek blood. They've only been given a fraction of what they crave, and they want more, always more." He was deadly serious, his eye haunted as he glared down at her. "I must give them what they want or they will never stop."

She backed away from him then, her instincts taking over. "I will not harm you. But I cannot speak for them." His eyes shifted to focus on something beyond her shoulder. Slowly she turned to follow his gaze and she saw… What was she seeing?

Shapes, like mist or fog, drifted in the space they had just passed through. Every time she thought she could make out something substantial - a face, or a hand - the shapes shifted again. She stood watching them until one eventually reached out a wispy tendril towards her. Though it did not make contact with her skin, she felt an icy shiver run along her arm and then down her spine, and she backed away until her back made contact with a cold, solid form.

Byleth pulled away from him and he did not stop her. "Stay near me and they will not harm you." When she hesitated he added, "I will not touch you."

As another tendril of mist reached for her she closed the distance between her and the nameless man, leaving only a few inches of space. True to his word he did not touch her, but they were far too close to each other for her comfort. In polite society she could rely on propriety and common decency to keep her physically distanced from others. But this was nothing like proper society. This was all together mad.

He gestured for her to continue down the passage he had brought them to while he stepped behind her, between her and those… things… She didn't like having him at her back but she did not have much of a choice. It was him or those wispy creatures, and while he had frightened her, he had not hurt her so this arrangement would have to do.

They walked on in silence for a time, until Byleth could take it no longer. "Will you truly not tell me your name?"

"It will serve no purpose." His reply was blunt, but his voice was almost sad. "What ever I was before, I can be that man no longer."

"Is it true no one else can see you?"

He didn't respond for a while, for so long in fact, that she thought perhaps he did not hear her. "Yes. When I first woke up in - in this state, I screamed until I was hoarse but no one heard me, no one saw me, no one could feel my presence."

She paused again and turned back to face him. "Then do you not think that perhaps I _can_ help you somehow? I'm not just some silly girl."

"You were foolish enough tonight." he countered.

Byleth pursed her lips and scowled, though he may not have seen in the darkness. Or did the darkness even affect him? "I was not going to sit idly by while a strange man broke into my room at night and tried to frighten me."

"And what will you do then? Now that you know a little of what this place truly is? Run to the authorities? Tell them there is sorcery and black magic afoot? Spending the rest of your days in bedlam will help no one."

She could slap him… But would he truly feel it? He seemed so detached. "I told you. I'm not just a silly girl. You know _nothing_ about me. If you want to wallow in the shadows here then you may do so, but I will not sit by and let innocent people be harmed by… whatever is going on here."

Her heart was racing, thundering in her chest. She _should_ send for the constabulary first thing in the morning an tell them there was a strange man with one eye living in the walls of Garreg Mach Abbey. But that would sound mad, because it was. And just as he said, she'd be sent off to bedlam with no family and no friends pull her out again.

His blue eye flared with some emotion she could not read. "It's not even been two days since you arrived, and already you're willing to put yourself in danger? For what?"

Indeed, he made an excellent point. Why was she insisting on remaining when logic and reason dictated she should quit the Abbey and all this nonsense?

Because she liked Edelgard. Because after spending just a short time with the staff she knew they were good people. Because from the moment she had arrived at the Abbey she could feel something was off, wrong. Because despite his insistence to the contrary, this strange shadow of a man was looking at her like she might be his salvation.

"I will not leave until I know it is safe for those who remain." Byleth replied simply.

He watched her in silence, his one eye so clear and striking, even in this dimly lit place. She felt caught in his gaze. "You will regret it. Everyone who stays here is cursed." Was all he said by way of a reply.

"Then I accept that risk." She turned and continued walking. Her voice had not wavered but her mind was reeling.

One day. She had only spent one full day in this place and already everything was spiraling out of control.

This was not her first encounter with the occult. Indeed on both her excursions with her father and Professor Hanneman they had encountered those who still believed in so called ancient powers, pagan rites and so forth. Some had believed enough to become fanatical and were determined to appease their ancient gods by enacting their ancient rites no matter how barbaric…

She pulled her shawl tighter around her, covering the scar upon her chest.

She had been blind once. She would not be this time. Exactly how she would ensure that while discovering what was going on here was another question entirely…

When they came to the end of the passage he moved ahead of her to open the small hidden door before passing through. It was almost comical to watch his hulking frame squeeze through to the other side. While he went on ahead she glanced back the way they came, looking for signs of the strange mist creatures. She thought she spotted movement a few yards away but it was too dark and too far to tell for certain.

"They do not come to where the living reside… usually. They do linger near you however. You should come this way."

Without questioning him she followed him through the narrow doorway and out into a main hallway. It was much darker on this side of the walls. Byleth blinked straining for her eyes to adjust. She could just barely make out his form in front her of her, a patch of shadow that was darker than the rest of her surroundings.

"Your room is just down the hall." He started to move but she almost missed it, the hallway was so dark and he seemed to be one with the shadows himself. Noticing her hesitation to follow he offered her his hand.

Things couldn't really get any more improper or strange so she took it. He did not drag her this time, but he did walk ahead while Byleth trailed behind. When they reached her door he released her immediately. She thought she saw him flex his hand as he let go but she could have been mistaken.

He watched in silence as she opened her door. The fire in the hearth had died down to a low glow but it was enough light to once again make out the features of his face. Yet no matter what he always seemed to be at least partially obscured by shadow.

He opened his mouth as if to speak but she cut him off. "I've made up my mind. You will not convince me to leave."

He scowled but his eye held only sadness. "You're making a mistake."

"I'm quite certain I am." She sighed.

Her shadowy companion turned to leave, already nearly consumed by the darkness of the hallway. But then he paused, turning so that she could see the barest glint of his eye in what little light that trickled out from her room. "Don't let Arundel be alone with you."

"But - I doubt that's avoidable."

"You must try to avoid it." With that he was gone, without a sound and without a trace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if updates are coming slower in general. I'm looking to make this one a shorter story, and I'm also working on wrapping up the other one I have on the go. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who's checked out my Victorian/Regency/Gothic AU of FE3H and Dimileth! <3<3<3


	3. Distortions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long if anyone was waiting. This month was busier than I anticipated. I'd still like to be done before the end of the month so I'll see what I can do.
> 
> SMUT in this chapter!!! - things are moving fast but there's only so much time for Byleth to figure out what is afoot!

As it turned out, Byleth's shadowy friend's direction regarding Lord Arundel would be easier to follow than she'd expected. At least for a time. Lord Arundel was to be away on business for at least a few days. In fact, he'd already left early that morning, before the rest of the household had risen and it was as though a weight had been lifted from the entire estate.

Both Edelgard and her mother came down for breakfast that morning. For the most part, Edelgard seemed herself, if a bit more cheerful - more relaxed. Her mother was something else entirely. There was colour to her skin, she held her head high, her eyes were bright and alert. In general, she appeared less frail. She even greeted Byleth as she entered the morning room though she still spoke very little.

None of them acknowledged Lord Arundel's absence. He didn't come up at all. Edelgard suggested a few things they could do over the next few days, different parts of the Abbey she could show her, or perhaps go to the nearby town of Remire so she could familiarize herself with "the only thing resembling civilization for miles”.

"That would be quite lovely. I was planning to write to a few friends. Let them know I'm here and settling in."

"It's settled then. We shall go to Remire tomorrow."

"I should get to letter writing then. But I was wondering if you might show me more of the Abbey today, Edelgard. It's such a vast place and I still feel as though I've seen very little."

"Certainly. Was there anything in particular you wanted to see?"

"The chapel." She'd said it without thinking. Then added, "I've always been fond of churches and holy places, and the one here at the Abbey is quite old and essentially unchanged from what I read. Is that correct?"

"I believe so. Though we don't spend a lot of time in that part of the Abbey. Master Cichol has the staff sweep the whole of the Abbey in the spring and fall to make sure things are still in order, that there are no vermin taking up residence, or damage to the building and so on. But we generally keep to these wings."

"If you don't mind being my guide again today, Edelgard, then I should very grateful to you."

"Of course. I was rather fond of the chapel when it was shown to me as well. I don’t know why I don’t visit it more often…" Eledgard drifted off as she spoke. Byleth could see her eyes grow distant and glassy. She shifted her focus to Lady Blaiddyd, wondering if she'd noticed the change in her daughter. The older woman did not speak, but her expression changed from one of placid calmness to concern.

Just as Byleth was about to call to her, Edelgard snapped herself out of her own stupor, blinking rapidly and shaking her head. "I think you will like it, Miss Eisner. It's quite lovely."

* * *

They finished their breakfast, and Byleth and Edelgard returned to their rooms to washup and retrieve their shawls. The uninhabited wings of the Abbey were quite chill and drafty, the silvery haired girl had warned. Byleth retrieved both her own shawl and the one that Edelgard had lent her the day before, but when she tried to return it Edelgard refused.

"Keep it. In case yours goes wandering off again." She said with a smile.

They returned to the main floor and Edelgard led them along a path that Byleth thought she recognized from the night before. Though she wasn't behind the walls this time, the twists and turns they took were reminiscent of the ones she'd taken last night. For as ordinary as the Abbey appeared from the outside, the interior of the great old building was more maze like than she would have expected. Once they had left the part of the house that was inhabited and familiar, the sensation that they were constantly on the brink of losing their way intensified.

It wasn't as though there was anything peculiar about the architecture, the layout of the halls and rooms, or the general décor. It was more of a feeling that came over her the longer they walked. Like she was sinking…

Then, without her realising they had arrived. Passing by a long corridor with tall windows, they entered the chapel. The strange feeling lifted but did not completely evaporate as they entered. Byleth pulled out her pocket watch to find that, while it had seemed to take ages for them to arrive at their destination, it had been only a matter of minutes. She stared at the hands of her watch in disbelief, but sure enough, they remained as they were.

"Are you quite alright, Byleth?" Edelgard asked, bringing her attention back to the present.

"Yes. I suppose I just hadn't realised the time." She was met with a skeptical look but no argument. Setting her watch aside she turned her attention to their surroundings - the reason they had come.

She was surprised to find it a relatively small and modest space considering how devout Sir Loog was supposed to have been. But what it lacked in size it surely made up for in beauty. Passing through the door they entered were a few rows of pews, enough to seat the family as they attended service and perhaps a few guests. Beyond that, the curved apse was lined with tall, intricately emblazoned stained glass windows depicting both the lives and deeds of the Goddess and her Saints, but also - Byleth assumed - some of the exploits of Sir Loog. For a golden-haired knight wielding a lance appeared in the in the motifs of each of the five beautiful windows.

"These are extraordinary. And original if I'm not mistaken." she said finally.

"Indeed. We don't know how they've survived through all the years to be quite frank. Even Master Cichol thinks it’s a miracle they have lasted for so long without so much as a crack or a chip. It's almost as though this place truly is protected by the Goddess…" Edelgard sighed.

"You don't believe in her?" Byleth had spouted of her skepticism yesterday but had not asked what Edelgard herself thought of these matters.

"It is as you said yesterday when you spoke of spirits. I think there may be something out there, some sort of higher power. But I have difficulty believing there is a Goddess, or some entity responsible for our existence – who created us and now watches as so many of their creations suffer with no hope of salvation." Byleth watched as Edelgard grew distant, just as she had done earlier at breakfast. As Byleth had noticed the young Lady of the house sometimes did whether she was mid conversation or not.

"I think I know what you mean. For some of us, what we are taught by the church does not relfect the evidence of our own lives." Byleth replied and Edelgard's attention returned to her. Then, surprising her, Byleth's pale companion reached out and clasped her hands with hers as a sad smile drew itself across her lips.

"I hope one day we can share our dark stories with each other, Byleth. It's been so long since I had someone to share those parts of me with." Edelgard's voice shook as she spoke and Byleth frowned.

That sensation that something was wrong crept into Byleth's mind from the periphery again. "Edelgard… I will not force you to tell me anything you do not wish to but… Are you alright? Are you safe here?"

Edelgard laughed and it was a… strange sound. Forced, not quite authentic. "Oh, do forgive me, Byleth. I can be a little overdramatic, especially when we haven't received any visitors for some time. I am sorry if I worried you. I am well. "

Just as with her laugh, Byleth didn't feel that Edelgard's words were entirely genuine. The young woman did not seem the sort to be prone to fits dramatics. However, she left it alone. "You _will_ tell me if something is wrong?"

"Certainly." She tried to give Byleth a reassuring smile, but again it didn't quite make the mark.

Rather than scrutinize her further, Byleth turned back to the windows. She followed the story they told, one familiar to anyone raised even adjacent to the church. Of the Goddess creating the land of Fódlan and how her wise, strong, and virtuous saints carried out her will and her blessings across the land. Byleth picked each one out in the pains of glass, but as she did so she found a figure that she could not place. A woman with long, flowing, leaf-green hair appeared in each tall window. Her face was always obscured. She eventually decided the woman must be from Loog's story rather than the Goddess’s, his wife perhaps.

The book she had read spoke much of Loog but little of the original Lady Blaiddyd. Perhaps she was more important to his story than the histories let on. It wouldn't be the first time that a woman's history was swept aside in the retelling. She was clearly quite beloved to the man himself. She would have to find another book on the family itself, or perhaps she could wheedle another story out of Randolph or another member of the staff. She had not gotten another chance to speak to the steward since that first day. Byleth suspected he may have his own unique stories to tell as well.

Though the steward of the abbey appeared rather young - Byleth thought he did not look much older than she was - she suspected he was much older, based solely on his mannerisms and bearing. She could be wrong of course, but she felt quite certain for some reason she could not explain.

Memory of Randolph's ghost story reminded her of how she had blurted out that she wanted to see the chapel. She had an academic intertest certainly, but she had an ulterior motive as well. She recalled the strange chamber she had seen that night, the shape of it, the alter at the centre of the curved alcove. It had been reminiscent of a chapel or a church. Sure enough, this chapel appeared to match the dimensions of that dark place by her reckoning. There were even etchings carved into the stone below the windows. Though she could not say whether they were reminiscent of the ones she'd glimpsed that night.

She slowly walked around the exterior of the chamber, following the walls secretly searching for signs of another hidden door or passage - a draft, an echo, a creak… anything. To Edelgard it must have appeared as though she was scrutinizing the carvings. Whenever Byleth turned to check on her companion Edelgard was standing before the alter, staring at it intently. She let her be. It wouldn't do to fuss over her constantly. There would be time.

She continued to meander around the room, following the stone panels depicting caravans of knights, great battles in far off lands, the retrieval of lost relics. Loog and his famous lance were present in each. Just as she was about to turn away, resigned that she was not going to find what she was after, her eyes caught on an all too familiar sigil.

She felt the blood drain from her face instantly and a cold chill creeped up her spine. Reaching out her fingers traced the looping lines that formed flame-like pattern carved into the stone. Her other hand subconsciously moved to rest over the scar on her chest. Her breath caught in her throat.

_It's just a coincidence, silly girl. It's not as though this symbol is a rare occurrence in places such as this…_

She inhaled deeply in an effort to settle her nerves, but her pulse still roared through her veins, her heartbeat thrumming in her chest. She still felt frozen in place. Her hand shook as she removed it from the cold stone and then she heard it.

"Fell Star…" A voice that sounded like the wind itself. So airy and distorted she almost thought she'd imagined it. But then it spoke again. "Fell Staaarrrrr…"

Now she backed away, keeping her eyes on the stone panel where the sigil hovered above a scene of Loog facing off against an enemy Byleth could not place. They appeared to be a tribal people. Their dress and weapons primitive compared to those of Loog and his holy knights.

Byleth wanted to study it further, but she could not stand to be near it any longer for fear that the airy voice would return and call to her once more. Rousing Edelgard from where she had remained, still staring at the alter, she suggested they move on.

"Is there anything else you would like to see?" Edelgard asked, still a little dreamily.

"What would you recommend? It is your home, after all." Byleth suggested. She was still too shaken to really think clearly.

"Hmm." Edelgard was silent a moment while they walked. "I have a few places in mind."

She led the back the way they had come and up a flight of stairs. They walked a short distance and Byleth noted the strange, disorienting sensation she had experienced earlier was absent now.

They slowed as they came upon a long, windowed gallery, the walls almost entirely covered with paintings of every size. Marble sculptures sat upon pedestals, tucked into little curtained alcoves. Almost every painting and sculpture was covered by white linens, sheltered from light and dust. Edelgard retrieved a hook that was siting in the corner of the room next to the door and started pulling down white linens to reveal each piece.

"We still bring guests here from time to time. Uncle likes to brag, even though he had nothing to do with this collection." Edelgard explained.

As each painting was revealed Byleth could see why the gallery may be so popular. Each piece was exquisite. While most appeared to portraits, there were also several landscapes and even a few more experimental pieces. "They're marvelous." Byleth exclaimed. Her scare in the chapel almost entirely forgotten. "Who _was_ responsible for this collection, if I may ask?"

"I believe a few different members of the family have had a particular interest in art over the generations. The latest pieces were acquired by the previous Lady Blaiddyd. She was also a painter herself as I understand it. She painted this one of the family." Edelgard pulled another sheet away revealing a family portrait of a golden-haired couple, their ice blue eyes looking out happily at the nearly empty gallery, a little blonde-haired baby boy cradled in the woman's arms.

"I never knew her of course." Edelgard said as she gazed up at the happy family. "She died not long after she painted his I believe. Sometimes when I look at her here I am reminded of my own mother, how she used to be back when she first met my stepfather."

Byleth did not speak as they continued along the length of the hall and Edelgard continued to reveal more of the hidden faces and scenes from behind each white sheet. The last painting hung over the door opposite the one they had entered by. It was one of the largest in the room. Byleth thought she saw Edelgard hesitate before eventually drawing the sheet down. Once the faces beneath were revealed Byleth thought she understood why.

Six solemn faces looked out at them. Byleth recognized Lord Lambert Blaiddyd from the previous family portrait. Next to his right stood Lady Blaiddyd who's hand rested on a younger Edelgard's shoulder where she sat in front of her mother. Next to her stood two young men, slightly older than Edelgard in the painting, but with the same violet eyes as their sister and her mother. To Lord Blaiddyd's left stood a tall young man with the same golden blonde hair, and ice blue eyes - eyes Byleth recognized staring out at her from a shadow’s face. She did not need to ask to know who he was.

"When was this painted?" she asked almost breathlessly.

"Just after mother and I arrived. We were quite a sullen bunch, weren't we?"

"Your family has seen much hardship."

"Yours as well."

"If you can call one person a family." Byleth smiled wryly. "I am all that remains of mine now."

"I am sorry. I had heard some of the staff talking, nothing insensitive mind, just that both your parents were gone." Edelgard took her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"It's all in the past. I was still more girl than woman when my father died." But that night lived on endlessly in her mind… "And my mother died when I was just a baby. I never even knew her. I've now spent almost half of my life alone. I'm quite accustomed to it. Perhaps I am luckier for it. It must be so much harder to have had known your family and then lose them…"

"It's… I'm not sure. My brothers died not so long ago and yet sometimes it is as though I'm remembering them through a fog. I sometimes question whether our time together was real at all."

Byleth had seen this sort of melancholy before. She'd lived it herself. Her instincts were telling her that both she and Edelgard, and likely Edelgard's mother would benefit from time away from this place. Whether or not there was a curse upon it, they'd certainly seen enough tragedy in their time at the Abbey. Sometimes one simply needed to get away from the memories, from the dark reminders of what had passed. They were like anchors pulling you down, drowning you…

"Do you ever feel like that? Like things that were important to you, that you _should_ remember, are just gone?"

Byleth immediately thought of the night her father died. How unshed tears welled in his eyes. How his kind, warm smile had been sullied by blood. Yet he had smiled up at her right until the end. It was the only smile of his she could recall now.

"I believe I have experienced something similar. There are things about my father that I can't recall, or rather only specific things that I can recall now. The good things have been overshadowed by the bad. They're the first things that come to mind when I call forth his memory." She wasn't sure how much she should tell this girl that she hardly knew, and yet she'd felt a kinship with her after their first interaction that compelled her to share these things.

There would be no harm in telling her. Her father's death was common knowledge, but the specifics were never made public. He was long dead and she had moved on… as best she could in any event. "You've no doubt heard something regarding my father's death..."

"Master Cichol did mention he had died while on an expedition." she replied hesitantly.

"I was with him. I watched him die. Now whenever I think of him the first thing that comes to mind is the way he looked as he lay there dying." Byleth spoke and then let out a gust of hair, never taking her eyes off the image of the family before her. "I can still recall the good things. But that memory is always the first that I recall."

"Are you saying there is no hope then?"

"Oh no! Nothing of the sort." She turned to Edelgard once more and took her hands in hers. "Though I can't claim to be a paragon of normalcy, I do believe all trauma requires time to overcome. Some much longer than others. It would be foolish to ignore that there are those who become overcome by their grief. I believe everyone has the capacity to overcome it. Some can do so alone. Some require the help of others, but there is no shame in that. Everyone needs someone at least some of the time."

Edelgard watched her silently for a time, her eyes wide. She looked as though she was struggling for words.

"Forgive me if I've been too forward. I tend to speak my mind."

"No, not at all. It's just. Those were the words I've been waiting to hear from - from my mother, or my uncle even, though that would have been far less likely. But they've treated the deaths of my brothers, and my stepfather like… like nothing… And then you arrive and immediately treat me like your own sister. I would have thought it brazen if it were anyone else, yet you have such a calmness about you, and I find I gravitate to it rather readily." She sounded rather flustered, awestruck even, but she still gripped Byleth's hands in her own.

"I can give you more space, Edelgard. Just give me -"

"No! No, it's quite alright. It's… good, the way we are. I wish to continue as we are."

"Very good then." Byleth gave her a reassuring smile and received one in return.

She helped Edelgard return the sheets to their places over each painting with a hook she found next to the other doorway and then they were on their way back to the inhabited part of the Abbey. Despite the markedly dark tone of their conversation in the gallery, they walked arm in arm in amiable silence. They stopped by the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, having missed luncheon yet again. There were no ghost stories to be regaled with today, just completely ordinary household talk.

Though the Abbey was understaffed for its size, as Master Cichol had indicated, there were more people bustling about below stairs than upstairs, and it created quite the stark contrast from the world that Edelgard, her mother, and Byleth inhabited above. Byleth hadn't realized how much she'd missed the hum of people going about their work around her.

As they were getting up to leave, the steward stopped her. "I was wondering if I might take up some of your time, Miss Eisner. I was hoping to check in, providing Lady Edelgard is not in need of your company for the moment."

"She's all yours, Master Cichol." Edelgard affirmed with a smile before turning to Byleth. "I'll be in the library."

As Edelgard turned to head upstairs, the steward lead Byleth to a room around the corner from the kitchen that Byleth immediately recognized to be his office. One wall was lined with a bookcase, stacked from floor to ceiling with all manner of tomes and ledgers. Before it was a large oak desk and a comfortable, yet well used armchair. In front of the desk was a similar, though obviously less used chair. The rest of the room was fairly sparse and exceedingly neat as she would have expected from the stoic steward of the Abbey. The only thing by way of decoration adorning the walls was a family portrait of the steward, a woman who must have been his wife, and a young girl with the same verdant green hair as the steward.

"Please have a seat, Miss Eisner. I hope you've been settling in alright."

"Yes, though I think I may have underestimated the Abbey." She replied as she sat down. The steward cocked his head to the side, a look of confusion passing over his features. "It’s a fascinating building to be sure. But its also a little… strange. I can't quite put my finger on it."

This wasn't entirely a lie. While she was already quite aware of a number of strange things going on at Garreg Mach Abbey, but she was referring more to the Abbey itself. “Its construction, its blueprint. On the surface it seems ordinary enough, but sometimes as I walk the halls I find myself suddenly disoriented.”

"Ah, that is a common occurrence with newcomers and visitors to the Abbey." he replied with a soft smile. "It usually passes. Although I must admit that not everyone grows accustomed to it. My own daughter prefers to live away from the Abbey, but our family has resided on this land for centuries, even before the Abbey was built."

"Oh!"

"Oh?"

"Forgive me. The other day Randolph treated us to a ghost story about the first Lady Blaiddyd to reside here. He gave us the impression the original dwellers of this place were not on good terms with the family." She couldn't help the note of embarrassment in her voice.

"Ah, yes. That boy does love those ghost stories. As does most of the staff and the villagers, mind you. The truth of that story is far less ghoulish, but no less tragic. Suffice it to say, there is some truth to it, but any bad blood between the Blaiddyd's and my people has long been water under the bridge. I would not have stayed on here, nor my father before him, nor his father before him if things had not been so." The steward didn't sound insulted, or even irritated. There was perhaps a hint of boredom in his tone but otherwise, he indulged her curiosity without any qualms.

"That is much closer to what I expected." she replied. "I apologise, I'm sure you're quite tired of correcting people."

"It's part of the job at this point." But he smiled at her now, his expression genuine, and she relaxed a little. While she was not unfamiliar with staff looking at her sideways, she preferred if they could remain on good terms. "So, aside from taking in the local tales, and the… unusual construction of the Abbey. I take it things have otherwise been going well?"

"Yes, I think so. I greatly enjoy Lady Edlegard's company. I find I am quite fond of her already. Though she is quite sad, I think. She's experienced a few bouts of rather intense melancholy just in the last couple days. Is that typical?"

"I'm afraid so. Though she does not speak of her feelings with anyone, not family or staff. If she is opening up to you then that is a significant improvement." The steward sounded concerned, but hopeful - encouraging.

Byleth looked away a moment and exhaled a long slow breath before she turned back to him. "I prefer to be frank, so I shall speak plainly, Master Cichol. My gut instinct is that Lady Edelgard should leave this house. There are too many painful reminders here, she cannot escape them."

Master Cichol's expression turned grim. "I appreciate your frankness, Miss Eisner, and I shall speak plainly as well. I agree with you. I have been of this opinion for some time however I am in no position to dictate what one of the Ladies of the house may or may not do. I have attempted to make such a suggestion in the past but neither Lady Blaiddyd nor Lord Arundel took heed."

"Surely a young lady who is of age may do a little travelling while she is still young. It is far from unheard of." Byleth persisted.

"Indeed, but Lord Arundel is very…"

"Controlling?"

"Particular." He said with a grim smile.

"Do you think he would allow her some time away if she had a companion?"

"Truthfully? No, I do not."

They let unspoken words pass between them in the silence that followed his words. It was clear the steward liked the interim head of the household no better than Byleth did. "I suppose in my ignorance I might inquire about it when I next see him. It wouldn't have to be long or very far even. Just a few weeks."

A half smile curved up the corner of his mouth again. "You may do whatever you think is wise, Miss Eisner. I do feel I must warn you. Lord Arundel does not like to be contradicted or commanded - by anyone. Tact will be required, whatever you decide. Though I'm sure you've already surmised as much."

Byleth nodded silently. She would at least have a few days to think this over and decide whether there was much point in asking Lord Arundel if she could take Edelgard away from the Abbey for a short while. "I will have to see what I can do."

"Indeed. I wish you luck. I should like to see this house become a happy one again."

Both sensing that their conversation was coming to an end, they rose from their seats simultaneously and the steward walked her to the door. "Oh, I should inform you. My daughter will be here for a short while on break from her boarding school. It will just be for a week or so. She is quite precocious, and inquisitive. She will likely want to pester you all about your travels and your work. I know you have your own responsibilities, so you don't need to indulger her…"

Byleth smiled warmly as she spoke. "She is welcome to spend time with me and Lady Edelgard, assuming Lady Edelgard does not mind. Are they acquainted at all?"

"Yes, though Lady Edelgard hasn't seen her since she was a girl. She's a young woman now."

"It will be nice to have another young lady here to liven things up I think."

They bid each other good afternoon and then Byleth returned to her room to write her letters in preparation for tomorrow.

* * *

What remained of the day and the subsequent evening passed by peacefully, but as she was turning in for the night a sinking feeling settled over her. She brought her book with her to bed, thinking she would have a difficult time getting to sleep. She was proven wrong, however.

Sleep took her almost as soon as her head touched the pillow and she sunk into an unfamiliar darkness. She drifted for a while, losing all sense of place and time. On she drifted through the darkness until she woke in a room that was both familiar yet unfamiliar.

It was clearly still a room in the Abbey, but it was not the room she had fallen asleep in. The bed was not hers. The furniture was different. There was more of it for one, and it was finer. The fire was also lit in the hearth, which at first, she thought was strange, but then she noticed that the windows were open and daylight was streaming in.

As she pulled the covers off of herself and got to her feet the sensation that something was off struck her. It wasn’t the same feeling she'd experienced as Edelgard had led her through the halls to the gallery - it was similar, but not the same. It was the feeling that _she_ was out of place. Still she felt as though she needed to move, needed to be somewhere…

She left the room she woke in and found herself in a familiar hallway. If she wasn't completely certain she was still in the Abbey before, she was now. This was the same hall that had taken her back to her room each night since she'd arrived at Garreg Mach. But why was she not in her own room now? She didn't stop to ponder it for her for her feet were carrying her away from the room she'd just left in the opposite direction of the rooms that belonged to the rest of the family.

She followed the hall the way she and the man in the shadows had come the night before. But she went past the panel they had come through, further - impossibly further until she came to another hall that cut across her path leading to both her right and left. Hanging on the wall before her where the hall ended was a large mirror. It stood taller than her, making it look as though the hall she'd just com from continued on forever.

As she regarded herself, she realized the woman before her was her… but not her. The shape of her face was right - her height, her build, the way she moved was all correct. Yet her hair was longer and lighter in colour. Her eyes were lighter too, glinting green in the lamplight rather than the blue they should have been. Just as she was leaning in for a closer look, she heard a sound to her left and immediately went to follow it, her reflection forgotten.

This corridor was not quite so long and the door at the end brought her outside to the top of one of the Abbey's walls, the one overlooking the cliffs. Standing opposite her, several feet away she saw two figures who appeared to be in a heated argument - a woman with pale, mint green hair and a man with the unmistakable gold locks of the Blaiddyd family. They did not seem to notice when she opened the door or that she stood there and watched them from a distance. She soon found she could not move. Her body would not obey her, and she began to wonder if it had obeyed her at all since she woke in this strange state or if she hadn't been in control at all this entire time.

She wanted to lean in just a little and hear what the couple were saying. However, all she could do was stand and watch as fog obscured their forms and muffled the sound of their voices. They were both dressed in garb from centuries ago and Byleth knew something was off about that as well, but her mind felt as foggy as the scene before her. Yet still strained to hear what they said. For some reason she felt it was important.

Gradually she felt whatever was holding her in place loosen. She leaned her head and shoulders through the door frame. Then she was able to reach her arm out and brace herself as though she needed to pull herself forward with the full force of her strength. But finally, as she took a single step forward, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder, gripping hard just before she was yanked back in the hall.

For a brief, terrifying second everything when dark. The misty daylight was swallowed up by blackness. She could still feel the hand on her shoulder as simultaneously panic started to rise. Another hand came around, an arm wrapped around her chest she felt her heart threaten to rattle itself free of her ribcage. She struggled to get free but whoever held her was strong, far stronger than she.

"By the Goddess, woman! Open your eyes, Byleth!" A gruff voice hissed in her ear and instantly she blinked her eyes open to find herself standing in an open doorway looking out at the same Abbey wall she'd seen just a moment ago in the daylight of her dream. But the stone before her, now cast in moonlight, had worn away, and there was a gap between the door and the rest of the walkway that she would have toppled into if it were not for whoever was holding her back.

Then she caught that familiar scent - rosemary and sandalwood. With this realisation the rest of her senses seemed to come back to her. She could feel the cold of the night air upon her skin, her breathing fast and shallow. His hand, almost as cold as the night air rested over the scar on her chest. Skin on skin, he must have slipped under the opening in the neck of her nightgown either in his rush to grab her or when she started to struggle.

Byleth reached up with a shaking hand, intending to remove his hand from her but instead she laced her fingers with his and held on tight. He felt so real… solid. Her grip tightened around his hand and she felt his frame tense behind her, but he didn't attempt to pull free or draw away. He simply held her still as her breathing returned to normal and the trembling wracking her body abated.

"Did I not warn you that you were in danger here?" His voice did not carry his customary gruff overtones of rage and frustration. Instead it was surprisingly gentle, but… strange. His breath was cold against her neck.

"I told you I can't." Byleth croaked out. Her throat was strangely dry. She still hadn't released his hand… Why hadn't she let him go?

As if reading her mind his hand moved slightly, his cold calloused fingers tracing the lines of her scar just beneath her collarbone. The beating of her heart picked up its pace once more, but it was not fear that spurred it on now.

"What did this?" He asked, his voice a low rumble in her ear as his fingers continued to follow the winding pattern of scar tissue.

She tried to fight it but the unsettling feeling that burbled up inside of her like bile continued to rise as the memories replayed in her mind unbidden.

_Someone else's hands on her throat, pinning her down, pressing red hot iron into her skin…_

Before she became too lost, she closed her eyes and willed herself to remain calm, to _forget_. She would not be beholden to _him_ anymore.

When she opened her eyes, she pulled his hand away slowly and deliberately, and shifted, turning to face him. "What did that to _you_?" Byleth released his hand finally and gestured at his bandaged eye.

Her shadow took a step back. He had looked different when she first turned around. Softer, concerned. But upon hearing her question his face reflected only anger. "You know already. The ones you saw last night."

"No, I require a real answer." she insisted.

"The more you know the more danger you will be in. You should forget all this and leave."

"I will not!" The shrillness of her own voice made her cringe, but she was tired of his cryptic warnings. Tired of the relentless strangeness of this place. Tired of her own memories rousing themselves back to life… She took a deep breath and continued. "I saw - just now I saw myself, but it was not me… I woke in a room that was not mine. There are hooded figures hiding in the bowels of this place, and a man lurking in the walls. _Tell me_ what is going on here."

His mouth set into a grim line as the silence stretched out between them. The ice blue of his eye flashed in the pale light that filtered in from the open doorway. Even in his current state - half shadow, scarred and bandaged - he was striking, handsome in a feral and slightly frightening way. Byleth wasn't frightened though, not of him. Of all the things that skulked about in the dark of the Abbey - things she knew about, and certainly many more that she didn't - he was the one she feared the least.

Even in her still semi delirious state she knew what a fool she was. But the more she saw him the more drawn to him she felt. It infuriated her all the more that he would not simply tell her what was happening here, what was happening to _him_. "Come with me." He said, suddenly breaking the silence.

He did not take her hand this time, simply started walking away from her. She hesitated only a moment, wondering if she should close the door, but in the end decided to leave it as it was, for it provided the only light to see by.

He led her back the way she had come in her dream. The sick feeling returned as she retraced the steps she had just taken, though the path they walked was much darker now. As they went by the place where hall branched, she hesitated again. The mirror that had reflected the image that was her but not her still hung there, but it was covered by one of the familiar white sheets that shrouded so much of the uninhabited places of the Abbey.

She almost considered pulling the sheet away to check - as though she doubted what she would find looking back at her. Before she knew it, her hand was reaching for the pale cloth, but as her fingers were just barely touching the fabric she froze. What if it wasn't her again? Would that mean she was going mad? Mad after just a few days? Was this place turning her into a creature like the man behind her?

Before she came to her senses a large hand came over hers, tightening around the fabric, pulling both limb and sheet down. "Still you." He said gently.

"But you're…"

"As I said. No one sees me, but you."

Byleth turned away for the glass that reflected only her image, still gripping his hand. In the dim light she held his hand up to her face and studied it as best she could. Her fingers followed the lines that marked his palm, felt the telltale callouses that gave away his life as a soldier. He was flesh and bone, as solid as she was. Why did he have no reflection? Why could the residents of the Abbey not see him?

When she looked up into his face, she saw only sadness. Her heart thrummed with a multitude of emotions, most of which frightened her almost as much as any hooded figures or dark dreams. "Am I going mad?"

"No." He said, closing his hand around hers. "Not yet anyway." Seeming to realize he'd developed a habit of touching her inappropriately and without warning he abruptly dropped her hand once more, his hand flexing at his side.

A thought struck her then, so strange and surprising she almost started. She didn't want him to let her hand go. She didn't want him to stop touching her. When she knew it was him, when she wasn't being surprised, his presence was an unexpected comfort.

"Forgive me. I didn't intend… I do not mean to make you uncomfortable. I have forgotten what its like to be among the living." He couldn't meet her gaze. For a moment she thought he looked ashamed.

"It's… alright."

"Please tell me if I - if I cause you any discomfort." His gaze was still fixed on the floor and Byleth found heat rising in her cheeks.

_What is coming over me?_

As he turned silently to continue down the hall opposite the mirror, she shook her head in an effort to shake free all these peculiar thoughts and feelings.

She knew where he was taking her without having to ask and before he stopped in front of the room she had awoken in during her dream. He opened it wordlessly and stepped it inside.

It too was different from her dream. The furniture, as with the rest of the uninhabited rooms, was draped in linens. The hearth empty and cold. Now that she was here without the veil of the dream to distort it, she could see just out large and fine it was. "Was this the room from your dream?" he asked, again without looking at her. In fact, he appeared to be focused on something near the window, something she could not see.

"Yes."

He turned back to her; his mouth set in that same grim line. But he did not speak. "What is this place?" She asked.

"It was the first Lady Blaiddyd's room."

Byleth tried to keep her breathing even. Part of her had suspected - had _known_. Just has part of her knew the woman she saw on the wall was the Lady herself. But what was she to do with this information? He said she was not mad, but all of this was mad. She was certainly mad for staying, for thinking there was anything she could do about what was going on here. _Why here? Why her? What has she to do with me?_

Instead of trying to piece this mystery together now she changed the subject. "I saw your portrait today." He didn't respond. "Why did you not just tell me who you are, Dimitri?"

"What difference does it make?"

"None, I suppose."

"I am lord of nothing but ghosts and shadow now. And even if I were not… It matter's not. I am what I am." he grit out through a clenched jaw.

"Surely there is a way to undo this. I can still see you, feel you. You are no spirit."

"Perhaps? But I know little of the ritual they performed - are still performing, and less about how it can be undone." He sounded exhausted, drained. Had he always been so? He’s seemed so fierce and strong that first night…

"But who are _they_? Why have they done this?" She assumed he was referring to the figures from the night before but she needed him to elaborate.

"They believe the stories of this place, that Garreg Mach is built on a place of power, and they think they can take that power for themselves. They think it is their birthright."

_Birthright?_ "But - Master Cichol was telling me that feud was long forgiven. He said his people have lived here for ages." She was not under the impression that the Abbey's steward was the sort to lie.

"I know that to be true." Dimitri agreed. "But they could be from a branch that left long ago. It is unclear to me what they mean by it being their birthright."

Byleth frowned. She did not like her adversary's motivations being unclear. "And how have they done this to you?" She asked.

He returned her frown, almost seeming to fade even more into the darkness. She took a step closer to him. She almost thought that if she lost sight of him, he might vanish into the shadows entirely. Dimitri remained with his feet planted in place, his remaining eye watching her carefully as she approached him. Byleth waited patiently for his response, standing there, inches away from him.

She wanted to take his hand, reassure him, comfort him in some way. He was so full of rage and anger, but also so much sadness. He just continued to look down at her as though he were struggling to find the correct words. She'd given up on getting a response by the time he finally did speak. "I can't - It's not clear." He grit out through clenched teeth.

"Take your time."

The golden-haired shadow closed his eyes, breathed deeply and then continued. "My father became sick suddenly. I was at his bedside the entire time. I did not leave him for more than a moment. Arundel arrived just a few days before he passed and my stepmother… changed. It was as though she was a different woman entirely. Up until his arrival she had been hopeful. We all were. My father was not a weak man. He'd survived much in his life. Arundel arrived and he was a shell of a man within days."

He took another deep breath as he composed himself. Byleth could see his hands were shaking. She wanted so desperately to take them in her own but could not be certain how he would react. "The night my father died I woke in the chamber you saw the other night. The ones in the hoods standing around me chanting, their unnatural flames burning all around. I couldn't move or scream. I felt - I felt like I had been drugged…"

"The chanting went on and on, and then they took out a shiny little knife and chanted as they cut my eye out. It took… longer than I would have thought." His breathing had become uneven and his whole frame was shaking now. His remaining eye was glassed over, distant, as though he was reliving it all over again right now.

She did take his hand now, without even thinking. To her relief he squeezed her hand in return as he closed his eye, and she watched him try to regain his composure. When he opened his eye again the fear and rage were gone. All she saw was sorrow. "I cannot recall what happened after. There was pain and darkness. I woke in the shadows, upon a stone slab in that same chamber. The people in hoods were gone. I found my way back to the surface but no one could see or hear me. No one could feel me. Not until you."

Suddenly he was raising the hand she'd offered him up to his face, below his bandaged eye. He pressed her hand against his skin and closed his eye once more, and she found herself frozen in place. "Your hands are so warm." He whispered so low she almost missed it. "You feel alive. For the longest time I thought I was dead. A spirit doomed to haunt this place with only wisps to keep me company."

Her heart was pounding in her chest the longer her hand rested upon his cheek. She hadn't felt like this in years – like she wanted to be close to another human being. But she couldn't help feeling like this was wrong somehow, like if she acted on any of these feelings she would be taking advantage of him. She tried to distract herself, distract both of them. "You called me Byleth before, at the door."

"it is your name , is it not? Would you rather I call you Miss Eisner?" He was leaning closer now. The space between them vanishing by the second.

"No."

Before she had realised it, her hand had curled around his neck, her fingers lacing through his hair. A sound rumbled fourth from deep in his throat that should have given her pause, should have made her snap out of it but it only made heat rise form her core and up to flush her cheeks. He was still unnaturally cold in her hands, but she found she didn't care. She appeared to be generating enough heat for the both of them.

Byleth wasn't the only one who's hands were roaming to places they aught not to. The shadow lord's hands had circled around her waist, drawing her in, pressing her body to him like he craved her touch, her warmth. His eye remained closed as he leaned into her. His face had drawn so close to hers that she could feel the coolness of his breath on her skin.

"Tell me to stop." He grunted, almost forcefully. "Tell me to stop before I do something…"

Instead she pulled him in, circling her arms around his neck and pulling him down so she could press her lips to his. Even as she did it, she thought it would feel wrong. She thought she would immediately realize her mistake. Her sense would return to her and she would remember that she barely knew this man.

What actually happened was his hold on her tightened. Her mouth opened to allow his tongue to delve in and mingle with hers, and she moaned against his lips, eliciting another rumble from deep in his throat. The sound electrified her blood. The fog of her dream and the ensuing fear and confusion was burning away until all that remained was the man that now held her in his arms.

His hands travelled up her back, trailing up her spine to her neck so his hands could tangle in her hair. She sighed at the sensation, but before she knew it his hands had returned to her waist, hoisting her up as he carried her over to the bed.

He came away after setting her down gently. Looming over her with hunger and need in his eye. Then clarity took over, replacing some of the heat of his gaze. "Tell me to stop." He repeated, though he didn't sound as though he wanted her to.

Byleth's breath came out in pants and she was still insufferably hot, the heat still rising and radiating throughout her body from her core. She reached out and hooked her fingers into his collar and pulled him down into another frantic kiss. He didn't resist. He simply devoured her lips as she silently bade him to do.

Part of her mind still thought this was mad. Surely, she should do as he'd said and tell him to stop. But the things he'd said about her feeling alive - they were so close to what she'd felt when he'd roused her from the dream, when he touched her now. He felt real and she found that she needed that feeling more than she had realized. She burned and she need him to temper the flames.

His body was a cage above her as he held himself propped upon his forearms and knees. But she wanted his touch. She wanted him pressed against her. She hooked her leg around his, urging him down until their hips met. Any doubt that he was not experiencing the same arousal she was evaporated when she felt his hardened length pressed against her. Another frustrated sound rumbled forth from him as she ground her hips against him.

"This is…" His words evaporated as Byleth started pull away his cloak before turning her attention to his shirt. At the same time, she kissed a trail from his lips, down his neck. The rosemary sandalwood scent of him driving her mad.

"A mistake?" She breathed against his pulse and felt his entire frame shudder.

"Yes." Even as he spoke his hand was sliding along her thigh, beneath her nightgown, and up. Her breath hitched as his calloused fingers grazed the flesh of her breast and he paused. Before he could pull away she brought her lips back to his and bucked her hips up into his.

Somehow, despite the distraction of his hands teasing her breasts, his mouth devouring hers, and the ridge of his erection maddeningly pressed against her mound - Byleth managed to free him of his shirt. Her hands roved over his chest, glancing over a multitude of scars that gave her pause. Her fingers came to rest over a large scar on the right side of his chest. Even in the dark she could tell it would have been nearly fatal.

He snatched her hand away before she could linger too long, and before she could speak he brought her hand up to his lips and pressed a heated kiss to her palm. Even that small gesture caused waves of heat to ripple through her. He released her, his hands returning to where her nightgown was pooled just below her breasts and slowly began to raise it, leaving her bare but for her underthings.

In spite of herself, and the heat still radiating throughout her body she started to feel the panic set it. He would see it. Even in the dark she knew he would, in all its horrific glory. Her body went stiff as she saw his eye drift to the left side of her chest. Her breathing came more rapidly as she waited for him to react.

These changes didn't go unnoticed. Dimitri's gaze returned to her face. Slowly he drew her up, cupping her face in both his hands. Byleth could see his face better now that he wasn't looming over her and it held a look of wonder. His hands were so relentlessly gentle as they traced the features of her face. It was almost as though he was afraid she might shatter.

She still trembled, even though he was no longer looking at the scar and she hated it. She did not want to feel shame right now, or ever, and the way he looked at her now… It almost drove it away.

"We are the same." He whispered it against her lips as though he couldn't believe it himself and for some reason those four words were enough to snap her out of her downward spiral.

She flung her arms around his neck and crushed her mouth to his. Almost as soon as their lips had met once more his hands went her hips, sliding down to grasp her buttocks and pull her into his lap. One strong hand held her in place while the other reached between them, into the heat where they were pressed together to stroke along her folds where her undergarments were already moist.

A soft whimper left her lips as he pushed the fabric aside so his fingers could slide along the sensitive flesh between her folds, easily finding the little bundle of nerves that ached for his touch.

It had been so long since anyone had touched her like this. She hadn't realized how sensitive she truly was until that moment. If he kept touching her like this she would -

Suddenly his hand was gone, and it took all her restraint not to whine at the loss. But he hadn't left entirely. He was pulling at the ties of his trousers, and in a moment he was free. She couldn't resist looking down to see just what it was that he had released. She had to suppress a gasp as her eyes fell upon his impressively large member. He was so big she almost questioned whether she would be able to take him.

Any doubt was forgotten however, as he started to raise her up where he still gripped her rear with one hand. With the other he guided himself to her entrance. Byleth shivered when she felt him pressed against her opening, her eyes fluttering closed in anticipation. But he held her there a moment and waited. His face was buried in her neck, his breath still cold against her now sweat slick skin.

"Byleth…" His voice was hoarse - strained, and yet she'd never heard anything as sweet as the sound of her name on lips just now. She lowered herself onto him, taking him in to the hilt. A simultaneous sigh erupted from both of them.

He doused her neck in kisses as she sat still for a moment, adjusting to him inside her. Evidently, he could not wait for long because his hips began to buck up into her, slowly at first. Then he lifted her where his hands still gripped her rear, his hands clenched tightly into her soft flesh as he drove her up and down over him. It was all she could do to hold on, so overcome by the sensation of him inside her.

Her blood was boiling. She was no longer certain if he was still unnaturally cold for she was surely generating enough heat for the both of them. Every place he touched was fire - her lips, her neck, her shoulders. He kissed and licked a flaming trail down to her breasts until he took one sensitive peak into his mouth and sucked. It was all too much. His mouth on her breast and the relentless pace he set as he thrust inside her had her coming undone in a trembling mess. She tried to suppress her cries against his shoulder, but she was quite certain she was not very successful.

She could feel him strain for control as the muscles of her sex tightened around him. His pace slowed momentarily, his lips returning to hers as he kissed her languidly. The only coherent thought she had as the waves of her orgasm rocked through her was that she could kiss this man forever, whether he was a shadow or a spirit. He was _real_ , and for this moment at least, he was hers.

His thrusts started to come quicker again, and she braced herself against his shoulders as he tipped her backwards, splaying her against the white sheet. Lacing his fingers with hers he pinned her arms above her head as he continued to plunge home, somehow hitting her deeper than before. She started to feel the familiar pressure of impending release build again.

Leaning in he caught her lips once again in a surprisingly tender kiss and she sighed against his lips, relishing the new sensations as he delved into her from this new angle. Eventually his rhythm staggered, his control slipping a fraction. They held each others gaze, watching as each other came undone in soft cries and shivering bodies.

Dimitri collapsed; half draped on top of her after he withdrew from her with a strained grunt. His frame was large and heavy, and though it was awkward she found she liked the feel of him enclosed around her. Though his body still did not seem radiate heat she didn't seem to mind. He encircled her with his arms, breathing heavily against her neck between lazy kisses. Byleth closed her eyes and just listened to the sound of his breathing and her own pulse still roaring in her ears.

His hold tightened on her a moment, rousing her back to alertness as she was beginning to drift off. "Byleth, I…" She hushed him, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, soothing his scalp as she tangled her fingers in his hair. He would not be still, however. "Byleth. This is - this was…"

"Dimitri," She didn't want to think about what any of this meant. Even now, still coming down from the heightened sensations and emotions, she knew it would not last. She just wanted to stay in this unguarded moment, with this man with whom she shared some strange unexplainable connection. She wanted to stay like this with him for as long as possible because she knew tomorrow or the day after that, or the day after that - weeks, or months, or years from now she would lose this as she'd lost so much else in her life.

She couldn't find the words to explain what she wanted, what she felt. They all dried up and fell away in her throat and she prayed her eyes spoke loudly enough as they stared wordlessly at each other. A bittersweet look seemed to pass over his face, and he seemed to calm. He kissed her again. It was less chaste than hers had been but slow and sweet. Soon they were melting into each other and the darkness that surrounded them.

Whatever came after this night she would move forward, and she would bring Edelgard and Dimitri with her out of the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> <3


End file.
